


The Trials of Casey Emory

by Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends



Series: The Meteor City Heroes [2]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Anxious Thoughts, Arguing, Banter, Broken Bones, Bruises, Burns, Choking, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Electrocution, Emotional Hurt, Exhaustion, Explosions, False Accusations, Feelings, Fire, Flirting, Fluff, Food, Gen, Guilt, Head Injury, Holding Hands, Hugs, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Insomnia, Implied toxic relationship, Innuendo, Insecurity, Kissing, M/M, Major Character Injury, Making Out, Minor Character Death, Non-Consensual Kissing, Panic Attacks, Passing Out, Past Character Death, Possession, Screaming, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Blame, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Sensory Overload, Swearing, Taunting, Teasing, Teenage Drama, Traumatic Experiences, Villain Deceit Sanders, Violence, Yelling, eldritch horror, enbyphobia, feeling useless/helpless, implied/referenced NSFW, mildly overprotective parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 17:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20157478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends/pseuds/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends
Summary: Copycat, a hero-in-training for The Meteor City Heroes. They long to be like this team of heroes, more than anything in the world. They want to be wise like Specter, bold like The Knight, kind-hearted like Aves, and most of all, they want to be a great protector like Thunderclap.However Copycat, better known as Casey Emory, has a long way to go. And it doesn’t help that their cousin Virgil, the hero known as Thunderclap, seems reluctant to let them onto the team. Which only fuels the flame for Casey’s desperate want to prove themself.Virgil just wants to keep his promise of keeping Casey safe. But when a new inhuman calling herself Voltaic attacks Meteor City, the team suddenly finds themselves down a member. Will Virgil put his worry aside, and let Casey and their new fellow heroes-in-training become a part of the team? Or will Meteor City be lost to a living computer virus?





	1. Ain't It Fun

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the 2019 TS-Storytime Big Bang! Thanks so much to my wonderful betas: @bangthekobrakid on tumblr, who helped me with the first fic in this series, grammar, and keeping my story plot consistent; and @broadwaytheanimatedseries also on tumblr, who came up with Elodie Lionel's character, was a wonderful cheerleader, and helped me worldbuild!   
Here a playlist I made for this fic:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg8G9sW1ODY1nuIfIA5OBg1Xt5O8-lsZ1  
There also will be chapter headers added soon, made by my artist, @podcastsandcoffee on tumblr!

To say that Casey Emory had a less than normal life was an understatement. Even before the Battle of Chevalier Labs, a fight between the Meteor City Heroes and the supervillain Deceit, went down a few months ago, their life wasn’t typical. Mainly because they were an agender kid being raised by their cousin because their moms had died. And said cousin had thunderstorm superpowers because of a curse from an ancient entity of living fear. Totally normal, right?

Unfortunately, things got even more not-normal since the Battle of Chevalier Labs. Well, more like since the accident at Meteor City High School. Dylan Lionel, who ended up being the supervillain known as Deceit, staged an accident during an energy presentation at Casey’s school. And because of that accident, they were now an inhuman. They could steal someone’s strength and powers if they had any, and use it as their own. Which was cool, except Casey couldn’t totally control it and sometimes accidentally made people pass out from stealing their strength. So Casey made sure they were wearing gloves or had their sleeves pulled up to make sweater paws at all times, just to make sure that they didn’t accidentally hurt anyone.

“Uh, earth to Casey?” Virgil asked, snapping Casey out of their thoughts. Virgil was their cousin, but also the superhero known as Thunderclap. He was driving them to school, and had been talking about… something. Casey, admittedly, hadn’t been listening to any of it.

“Sorry Virge. Totally spaced out,” they replied, fidgeting with the strap on their open back gloves. Thankfully, the black gloves fit with their emo punk aesthetic, and worked perfectly with their typical olive green bomber jacket.

“Thinking about your powers again?” Virgil asked, glancing over at Casey with concern.

“Maybe a little,” Casey muttered, slouching in their seat. Virgil reached over and gave them a semi-awkward pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Logan’s a good teacher. He’ll help you figure out how to control them,” Virgil said, putting his hand back on the wheel. Logan was the telekinetic superhero known as Specter, and was also the leader of the Meteor City Heroes. He had agreed to help Casey learn how to use and control their powers. They wanted to ask about what would happen after Logan had trained them, but Virgil was still iffy on the subject. Besides, they had just pulled into the MCHS parking lot.

“Alright, time to get out, kid. See ya after school for training,” Virgil said, nudging their shoulder playfully.

“Thanks Virge, see ya,” Casey replied, hopping out of the car and shouldering their backpack. They glanced back, giving Virgil a half-hearted wave as he pulled out of the parking lot. Casey watched the car leave, then turned back to the school building with a sigh. At least they now could do normal teenage things instead of worrying about training.

Casey made their way into the school building, heading towards the library. It was where they would meet up with their friends before the school day started and talk about… anything, really. From video games to emo bands, to homework and depressing gossip about the education system.

“Casey!” a voice shouted when they reached the usual table in the back of the library. This earned a disapproving glare from the librarian at the circulation desk, and Casey gave her an apologetic smile. They turned back to see Kai and Elliott, two of their best friends, sitting at a table and excitedly waving them over. Well, Kai was waving excitedly. Elliott was giving Casey a rather exasperated smile that they reserved for whenever Kai was being, well, Kai.

“What’s up, nerds?” Casey grinned, dumping their backpack onto a chair before hopping up to sit on the table.

“Hey! I resent that,” Kai grumbled, slumping in his seat.

“Kai, we’re hanging out in a library. We’re nerds,” Elliott pointed out.

“No, I’m just outvoted on the ideal hangout spot, cause I hang out with nerds,” Kai shot back playfully.

“Don’t you play videogames? And really like Avatar: The Last Airbender?” Casey teased.

“Yeah, but I’m primarily a skater boy!” he huffed.

“She said see ya later boy,” Casey and Elliott chimed in simultaneously. Kai rolled his eyes, while Elliott and Casey dissolved into giggles.

“You two emo enbys are gonna be the death of me. And I’ll have you know that my girlfriend likes me  _ very much! _ ” Kai protested.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re happy and in love, we get it. Also I dunno if Avril Lavigne counts as emo,” Casey replied. Elliott remained quiet, seeming regretful, and Kai and Casey exchanged knowing looks. Elliott insisted that things were fine with their boyfriend, but every time relationships came up in conversation, they would get that strange, regretful look on their face. But Casey and Kai knew better than to press them about it.

The morning carried on, the conversation shifting to their various homework and classes. Soon the bell rang for the school day to begin, and the three of them had to part ways. Casey shuffled along to their classes, wishing they could just will the day to go faster. Because the sooner they could get done with the school day, the sooner they could train with Logan, and the sooner Virgil would let them on the team. But unfortunately, Casey didn’t know any inhumans with time manipulation powers, so they couldn’t steal their powers and make the day go faster.

Eventually, it was lunch period, so Casey again got to see their friends. They plopped down at their usual table, cafeteria tray in hand. Elliott gave a friendly nod in greeting, idly pushing the food around on their tray with a fork. Casey frowned for a moment, pondering if they should confront the other teen about their gloomy attitude. Then again, Elliott tended to be on the gloomy side sometimes. And they weren’t particularly fond of talking about their feelings. So instead, Casey settled for a friendly smile.

“Hey El. Where’s Kai?”

“Think he’s having lunch with his girlfriend today,” Elliott replied. Casey opened their mouth to say something else- probably something snarky- but their entire train of thought was cut off when  _ she  _ came waltzing into the lunchroom. The head of the yearbook committee, a cheerleader, and a prominent member on the student council. And worst of all, Dylan Lionel’s niece. Elodie Lionel. Her dark brown curls bounced with each step she took, hazel eyes flashing with an air of pomposity. With a smattering of freckles across her cheeks, some would think she was sweet, innocent. But Elodie was anything but. She was flanked by two of her lackeys, Sloane and Corbin. Well, lackeys might be a bit harsh. Maybe they weren’t all that bad. But then again, they hung around Elodie quite a bit.

“Ya know, glaring at her from across the room isn’t gonna make her implode,” Elliott commented.

“I can dream, can’t I?” Casey huffed, stubbornly stabbing at their questionable school cafeteria vegetables with their fork.

“What do you have against Elodie anyhow?” Elliott asked, eying their vegetable-stabbing behavior with concern.

“Oh, I dunno, how about the fact that her uncle tried to destroy the city or something a few months ago? Or the fact that he sabotaged a presentation here and it ended up sending several students, including me, to the hospital!” Casey hissed, jamming their fork into a sad-looking piece of broccoli for emphasis. Elliott shifted uncomfortably for a moment, and Casey glanced around the lunchroom to see that a few people were looking in their direction. Casey sighed, releasing the death grip on their fork.

“Look, you’re not the only one that’s rattled by the Battle of Chevalier Labs. But it’s not like Elodie orchestrated the attack,” Elliott pointed out.

“I know, it’s just- her attitude is infuriating. Before her uncle ended up being a supervillain, she always acted like she was better than everyone else. And even now, she still acts like she’s better than everyone else!” they replied with an irritated sigh. Elliott opened their mouth to say something else, but snapped it shut again, lost for what to say. Casey noticed their discomfort, and their shoulders slumped.

“Sorry. I’m really not much better than those preppy losers right now, am I?” they joked with a lopsided smile.

“If you start wearing blouses and pleated skirts, I’m staging an intervention,” Elliott joked. Casey mimed a gag.

“Oh god, me in a skirt- that’s just- no,” they said, shuddering. Elliott laughed, and soon Casey found themself laughing as well. The lunch period carried on with less… excitement, and Elliott and Casey idly chatted until the bell rang for class. The two teenagers parted ways, and Casey shouldered their backpack as they made their way to their least favorite class. Chemistry.

Chemistry quickly rocketed up to even worse when Casey noticed the words “LAB TODAY” written across the whiteboard. Which means they would have to work with a lab partner. And if their previous luck in this class stood, they would get paired with someone awful. 

Speaking of awful, someone was sitting in their usual seat. A jerky, star football player who barely knew how to spell “chemical compound”, much less understand what they were. Hell, even his name was one for a stereotypical dumb jock: Brad. What was this, a shitty high school movie?

“You’re in my seat,” Casey huffed, glaring down at Brad. The football player turned to face them, a mocking look of shock spreading over his face.

“Oh my god, is  _ it  _ talking to me?” Brad said, laughing and nudging one of his friends with his elbow. They laughed along with him, and oh, what Casey wouldn’t give to rip off their gloves and steal the strength of those assholes.

“Hey, they said that’s their seat,” a voice piped up, and their gaze snapped over to the girl standing beside them. And in that instant, Casey knew it was the end of their bisexual existence. The girl had black hair pulled up into a high ponytail, and eyes a warm reddish-brown color. She must have been an athlete, judging by the coral pink sweatshirt, black leggings with a matching coral pink stripe down the side, and tennis shoes. In other words, totally not the girl Casey expected to be into. 

“Uh… what?” Brad said, blinking in confusion.

“You’re in  _ their _ seat,” the girl said firmly. Brad stared at her dumbly for a moment or two, until the girl glared at him and he shrunk down in the seat.

“Okay, okay, geez!” Brad muttered, getting up out of Casey’s seat and sulking over to his own. Casey watched him leave for a few seconds, before setting down their backpack and turning to the girl.

“Hey- uh, thanks. For that,” Casey said, flushing slightly.

“No problem! Say, is this seat taken?” she asked, pointing to the one next to Casey’s.

“I don’t think so. Are you new to this class?” Casey asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup! I was in pre-chem, but my teacher felt it was too easy for me and bumped me up to chemistry. A little sucky that it happened mid-semester, and that a bunch of my classes got switched around, but hey! More advanced science!” she replied with a grin. Oh, Casey was most certainly done for. Cute, athletic, and smart?! There was no way this girl was human, or even real.

“Oh. Uh. Cool!” they said, internally smacking themself upside the head. Could they be any less smooth?

“Yeah, I guess so! My name’s Roux Avalon, by the way!” she exclaimed, holding out her hand.

“Casey. Casey Emory,” they replied, taking Roux’s hand and shaking it. Roux smiled, glancing down at Casey’s gloved hand.

“Cool gloves! Say, if the teacher lets us pick lab partners, you wanna be mine?” she asked. The compliment must have melted Casey’s brain completely, because they had little to no control over the next thing out of their mouth.

“Sure!”


	2. Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)

Surprisingly, Casey didn’t spontaneously combust from being the cute new girl’s lab partner. And they also managed to not make a fool of themself in front of her either. Even more surprising was that the day went by fairly quickly after that, which meant that they could go train with Logan at Remy’s lab. Remy was the only living heir to the Raines family, who were rich and powerful inhuman enthusiasts. Remy, like his family before him, kept tabs on inhumans- those with superpowers- and designed supersuits for them. He himself was an inhuman, and he had the ability to put people to sleep with a single touch.

“Hey, kid. How was school?” Virgil asked, shaking them out of their thoughts as they slid into the front seat of his car.

“It was alright,” Casey shrugged, trying to sound noncommittal. But Virgil raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly at them.

“Alright, huh? Usually you’ve got a never-ending torrent of complaints,” he commented. Casey flushed slightly, shrinking down in their seat.

“Okay, so maybe there was a new girl in my chemistry class, and she’s really cute, and we ended up being lab partners and I magically managed not to screw things up! But I’m not gonna be able to keep that up because I am a walking disaster,” Casey exclaimed in a rush. Virgil chuckled and took one hand off the wheel to ruffle their short ginger hair good-naturedly.

“Things will be fine. Take it from one walking disaster to another,” he replied, putting his hand back on the wheel.

“Roman called you his ‘darling stormy knight’ while asking you how your day went, and you said thanks,” Casey deadpanned. Roman Chevalier, also known as the robotic armor-wearing superhero called the Knight, was Virgil’s boyfriend. Their relationship had started out rocky, with Virgil initially blaming Roman and his company for the accident at Meteor City High School. One thing led to another, and Roman and Virgil put aside their differences for the greater good. They discovered their feelings for each other along the way and had started dating after the Battle of Chevalier Labs.

“Yeah, but we still lo- I mean, we’re still together, obviously,” he replied, becoming incredibly flustered and stumbling over his words slightly. A snarky grin spread over their face, and Virgil glowered at Casey in response.

“You looooove him!” They said in a sing-song voice.

“No! Well, yes, but it’s just… we haven’t- you have training to go to,” Virgil rambled, cutting off abruptly and focusing back on the road.

“Oh, so now you want me to go to training,” Casey snarked.

“Shut up. We’ll be at Remy’s soon,” he grumbled. A silence settled over the car for a few moments, until Casey spoke up again.

“I think he loves you too,” they said softly. A small smile slipped onto Virgil’s face at that.

“Thanks, Casey.”

* * *

Casey wasn’t sure what they were expecting when they made it to headquarters, which was the mansion that belonged to the inhuman enthusiast Remy Raines, but Roman standing excitedly in the middle of Remy’s lab with Logan, Patton, and even Remy watching him semi-nervously wasn’t one of them. Roman held a touchscreen pad aloft in one hand, his blue eyes gleaming with excitement and slight mischief. Ever the professional businessman, his medium-length hair was pulled out of his face and into a small ponytail. He wore a red suit jacket over his crisp white dress shirt, and black dress pants. His robotic suit of armor stood nearby, the white metal glistening with its blood-red gauntlets and boots, and the visor glowing gold.

“Uh, babe? What’s going on here?” Virgil asked, while Casey unceremoniously dropped their backpack onto one of the lab tables.

“Virgil, my dear! You’ve arrived just in time to see the unveiling of my newest technological marvel!” Roman grinned. Virgil raised an eyebrow, glancing over to Logan.

“That is all he has told us. I’m mildly concerned that something will explode,” Logan said with a sigh.

“Honey, you’re a telepath! Can’t you just read his mind and find out?” Patton asked.

“I’ve tried. Mr. Chevalier has been internally cycling through every Disney song known to man,” he grumbled.

“Well, I thought we were past formalities, Dr. Irving?” Roman shot back with a smirk.

“We are. Giving you a semi-professional title just minimally lessens your irritating qualities,” Logan replied with a smirk of his own. Roman made a frustrated sound, hands flailing wildly.

“You know what? Forget it, let’s move on to the great unveiling!” he exclaimed.

“You guys have a fire extinguisher on hand, right?” Casey muttered to Virgil and the others. Roman let out an offended gasp.

“I don’t believe this! My own protege, turned against me!” he cried, dramatically flinging his free arm over his face.

“ _ Your _ protege?” Logan and Virgil asked in near unison, both with incredulous expressions on their faces.

“Okay, so they’re the team’s collective protege. But I’m definitely the favorite mentor, right Casey?” Roman grinned.

“Just get on with blowing us up,” they snarked back.

“I didn’t hear a no…” 

“Gurl, get on with it! I’ve got shit to do and you’re taking up my lab space,” Remy drawled, taking a sip from his iced coffee.

“Fiiine… anyway, you all know my AI system, D3-P1C4N1,” Roman began explaining.

“Also known as Picani!” a chipper voice exclaimed from the suit.

“Did you make another AI?” Patton asked excitedly.

“No, I have Picani, why would I need another one? Anyway, I’ve decided that Picani has gone on as a faceless voice for far too long!” Roman declared, tapping something on his touchscreen. A light flickered outward from the suit’s visor, and a golden holographic man appeared in front of them. He had curly hair, round-rimmed glasses, and basically dressed like a wannabe Mr. Rogers. Cardigan, tie, dress shirt and dress pants.

Remy suddenly choked and sputtered on his coffee, causing all of them- including Picani- to glance over at him with concern. He set down his coffee on the lab table he was perched on, still coughing and trying to catch his breath.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. But gurl, why’d you make your AI hot?!” Remy exclaimed once he had stopped coughing. Picani’s hologram flickered pink for a moment, before returning to his golden color.

“Uh… I was going for cutesy and friendly, but that works too I guess,” Roman replied, blinking in confusion.

“Well, not sure if my opinion counts, cause I’m ace, but I think you achieved cutesy and friendly!” Patton exclaimed.

“Patton, you being asexual does not make your input invalid,” Logan said fiercely. Patton’s face broke out into a sunny grin, and he practically launched himself at Logan, hugging him tightly.

“Aww, thanks honey!” he squealed. Logan’s face flushed at the show of affection, and he hugged Patton back.

“... Is no one going to acknowledge the fact that Picani basically did the AI version of blushing?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah… I don’t think I programmed him to do that,” Roman frowned, looking down at his touchscreen pad.

“I think my systems just got a little excited about going ghost for the first time! Just a minor malfunction,” Picani exclaimed, but the pink flickering of his hologram stated otherwise.

“Going… ghost?” Logan pondered, head tilting to one side.

“Danny Phantom reference,” Patton whispered to him.

“Ah. I had momentarily forgotten of Picani’s tendency to make cartoon references. You really should fix that, Roman,” Logan replied.

“I purposely programmed him to be chock-full of cartoon references!” Roman exclaimed proudly.

“Of course you did. Now, are you quite done? I am supposed to be training Casey today,” Logan said with a sigh, adjusting his glasses.

“Yes, yes, I’m done,” Roman sighed, walking over to a lab table and setting his touchscreen pad down. Picani followed after him, choosing to perch on top of the table like Remy had.

“Is he just making himself seem like he can interact with the environment, or is he actually able to physically touch things?” Remy asked, walking over and waving his hand through Picani’s abdomen before Roman could respond. Picani shivered slightly, his form flickering to a darker pink.

“Oh! Don’t you think you should get to know me a little more before sticking your hand places, Mr. Raines?” Picani asked with a wink. Remy let out a squeak, before regaining his composure and turning to glare at Roman.

“I swear if you programmed your AI to flirt with me…”

“Hey, I’m just as surprised as you! You can look at the stats yourself, I’m not doing this,” Roman replied, gesturing at his touchscreen.

“Uh huh. Sure. Anyway, do you got a minute Casey? I’ve got a prototype of your suit ready,” Remy said, walking over to one of his computers. He pressed a button, and three SphereBots popped up from compartments in the floor. Each one of them was a simple white sphere with a colored, glowing circle making them look a bit like giant eyeballs. Remy had named each of them, the one with the purple circle being Thomas, the orange one being Joan, and the blue-pink gradient one being Talyn.

“My suit’s ready?!” Casey exclaimed, quickly moving to stand in the center of the lab. The SphereBots hovered around them, colors blinking in what seemed to be excitement.

“Honey, I said  _ prototype _ . Which technically means it’s not ready yet. So don’t go busting up my shiny new suit, mkay fam?” Remy replied firmly, raising an eyebrow at Casey. They rolled their eyes in response.

“Yeah, yeah, just get me suited up!” Casey exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of their feet. Remy shook his head fondly and pressed a few buttons on his computer. The SphereBots’ colors flickered again, and colored light began to shine on Casey, dancing over their form. The light was both tangible and intangible, Casey could feel its presence on their skin, but they couldn’t interact with it. As the light traced over them, the suit materialized along with it. Casey grinned as they watched the dark green material- so dark it was almost black- appear on their skin. Remy had always boasted about his nanotech and its ability to create suits out of seemingly nothing, but they had never seen it in action before.

In a matter of minutes, the suit had fully materialized onto Casey. The entire suit was made of a sleek, dark green material, with black fingerless gloves, boots, and belt. There was a dark green helmet as well, with a black visor and cat ears. And the pièce de résistance- Casey’s personal favorite part of the suit- a black robotic cat tail. It swished happily behind them, and they nearly squealed at the sight of it.

“This is just a prototype?! Rem, this is fantastic!” Casey cried out in excitement, yet again bouncing on the balls of their feet.

“Honey, I dunno if all the technological aspects work yet, so duh. Prototype. But I think we can check off the tail as working,” Remy replied with a grin.

“But why do they need a tail? If anything, it will become an obstacle while out in the field,” Logan frowned.

“Uhm, aesthetic? Their codename is Copycat, after all,” Remy scoffed.

“Plus it’s like a whip! Like, a baddie tries to sneak up on me? Wha-bam! Tail attack,” Casey proclaimed, tail lashing behind them for emphasis.

“Unless you gain eyes in the back of your head, I’m not entirely sure such an attack is feasible,” Logan replied, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

“I think I’ll figure it out. I’ve got you to train me, after all!” They shot back with a grin. Logan rolled his eyes, but there was a small, fond grin upon his face. 

“D’awww, cute mentor-trainee bonding time! Now to the important stuff- what your suit can do! Flick your wrists for me, hun?” Remy asked, clapping his hands together and watching them expectantly. Casey did as he asked, and let out a surprised gasp when claws sprang up and built over their fingertips.

“So you don’t have to rely on your power-stealing abilities 24/7. You can sheath them by flicking your wrists again. Now as for the helmet, it’s got a lot of the same tech as Roman’s suit. Night vision, infrared, the works. But as an added bonus, you ears have heightened auditory receptors,” Remy explained.

“You really like stealing my tech, huh?” Roman grumbled.

“Gurl, your suit literally integrates with most of my tech. How am I not supposed to use it?” Remy scoffed. Roman opened his mouth to protest, but Virgil spoke up before he got the chance.

“This is great and all, but it looks a little… flimsy,” he said, voice edged with concern.

“Excuse me?! Flimsy?! Gurl, this is the same material as your guy’s suits- minus Roman’s. Flexible and lightweight, but tough and shock absorbent,” Remy exclaimed with an incredulous gasp. 

“Relax, Remy. He knows that. Virge is just paranoid,” Casey grinned. Virgil opened his mouth to retort, but Logan spoke up before he got the chance.

“Before a family feud breaks out, I believe Casey originally came here so I could train them,” he said firmly. Virgil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. It’s training time,” he huffed. Casey grinned from ear to ear, their tail swishing behind them in excitement.

“Thank you, Virgil. Now Casey… let’s see what your suit can truly do,” Logan said, causing Casey to gulp nervously. Because Logan- usually the ever-so-serious Specter- had an excited gleam in his eyes.


	3. Sugar, We're Goin Down

Logan breathed deeply, standing in the center of the sparring mat, having donned his suit. It was all black, with shimmering cobalt blue lines that converged into a geometric brain shape on his chest. He also wore a visor, which gleamed the same blue as the details on his suit. A device called the Phaser, which could make the wearer intangible, was strapped to his right wrist.

He glanced over to Casey, who stood a few feet away from him. Their tail swished anxiously behind them, and a part of Logan was fascinated by it- even if the tail was rather impractical. The tail already seemed to be acting as a part of Casey’s body, rather than a piece of technology. In many ways, it appeared to behave like a real cat’s tail. It reminded Logan of his boyfriend, Patton Hartford, in a strange way. Patton was the superhero known as Aves. He had incredible strength and healing powers, as well as wings that could be magically summoned when needed, thanks to the mystical Aves Amulet that he had inherited from his mother, the original Aves. When Patton had his wings out, he often behaved more like a bird than a human. His wings would flare out when he felt threatened, and they would wrap around him when he felt insecure. There were also instances where he had issues with object permanence, and he also had a penchant for shiny objects. The thought of it caused Logan to glance over to where his boyfriend was standing with the others alongside the training area. Patton gave him a thumbs-up, and Logan could sense the reassurance coming off of him in waves.

_ “I appreciate the thought, Patton, but Casey should be the focus of your moral support at the present moment,”  _ Logan thought to him with a smirk. Patton giggled slightly, causing Virgil to raise an eyebrow.

_ “Aw, go easy on them!” _ Patton thought back to him.

_ “If I go easy on them, then they will never learn anything,” _ Logan thought in reply.

“Hey teach, you gonna train me or keep mind-flirting with Patton?” Casey teased. Logan raised an eyebrow, the glowing details on his suit pulsing dangerously.

“Very well. Try to land a hit on me,” Logan said simply, gesturing at himself before clasping his hands behind his back. Casey cocked their head to the side in mild confusion, before shrugging and lunging towards Logan. He almost laughed aloud- too easy. He sidestepped their attack effortlessly. Logan fully expected them to faceplant due to the force behind their attack, but surprisingly they caught themself, staying on their feet and whirling around to glare at him.

“Fascinating. It appears that your tail is actually assisting your center of balance. Now, try again,” Logan said, hands still clasped behind his back. Casey frowned in determination, before rushing towards him again and again, throwing punch after punch. Logan dodged each one with ease, and he didn’t need to be a telepath to know that they were growing more and more frustrated.

“Your form has gotten better since we last trained, but you’re still too slow. Be faster, Casey,” Logan advised.

“You don’t think I’m trying?! Ya know, it’s not entirely fair fighting against a telepath. You probably can sense what I’m gonna do before I even do it!” They exclaimed as they paused in their attacks, trying to catch their breath.

“And you expect the enemy to be fair?” Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” Casey grumbled with a slump to their shoulders.

“Correct. Besides, I wouldn’t say you’re not faring well because I am a telepath,” Logan said. Casey stood up straighter with a frown.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” They shouted incredulously.

“Well, to put it simply, I don’t need to be a telepath to see your punches coming. They are just that painfully obvious,” he replied flatly. Logan realized too late that his statement was perhaps the wrong thing to say. In an overwhelming rush of anger, Casey lunged at him with an uppercut to the jaw. Logan stumbled backwards, stunned from both the punch and the surge of emotion, and landed flat on his back. He vaguely heard someone say his name- or think it, Logan couldn’t quite tell. He felt a hand on his arm and glanced over to see Patton leaning over him, his gorgeous white wings out and a shimmery golden glow around him. Soft hazel eyes peered down at him with concern, and Logan’s breath caught with how positively  _ angelic _ his boyfriend looked.

“I’m alright, it was just a punch, Patton,” Logan said, massaging his jaw as he rose to his feet. Patton fretted for a moment or two more, before returning to the sidelines with the others.

“Just a punch? Gurl, they knocked you off of your feet! I am so glad I had the foresight to record these training sessions…” Remy crowed, rubbing his hands together with glee.

“You’ve been recording these?!” Logan and Casey cried out in unison.

“Um, duh? For records or whatevs,” Remy said with a shrug, taking a sip of his iced coffee. 

“While I can see the logical standpoint behind recording these sessions, I hope you are aware that the footage cannot be allowed to be seen by those outside the team,” Logan replied sternly.

“Oh honey, I know that. I’m just gonna replay the video of you getting your ass kicked by a kid whenever you’re being obnoxious,” Remy snarked. Logan silently fumed for a moment, before turning to Casey. They had gone stock-still since punching Logan, mouth hanging open and face a bit paler than usual. Logan could feel the panic running through their mind, and he gave what he hoped to be a reassuring but proud smile.

“That was certainly an improvement, Casey. Shall we up the ante?” Logan asked. A flash of surprise flooded through Casey before they nodded enthusiastically.

“Whoa there, they land one punch on you and suddenly they’re ready for more?” Virgil asked in disbelief, the worry for his cousin clear in his tone.

“There is no reason to be alarmed. They have progressed quite well, and I would like to see what they can do when their opponent fights back,” Logan replied with the beginnings of a smirk playing on his lips.

“What?! How is that supposed to not alarm me?!” Virgil sputtered.

“Relax, my dear, Casey is quite the skilled super-kid,” Roman soothed, taking one of Virgil’s hands in his own.

“Are you guys ever gonna stop calling me kid? I am eighteen, ya know,” Casey huffed.

“Deal with it, kid,” Virgil snarked, but a playful glint was in his eyes. Casey stuck out their tongue in response. Logan cleared his throat loudly, causing Casey’s gaze to shift back to him.

“Are you ready?”

“You know it. Are you?” Casey challenged, shifting into a fighting stance. Logan fought back a laugh.

“You got lucky before,” he shot back, beginning to circle around them.

“Hmm, maybe. So how we doing this? Powers or no powers?” Casey asked, mimicking Logan’s steps to keep him in their view.

“You think you can beat me with my full telekinetic strength?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think you’re scared of me taking your powers,” they replied with a smirk. Logan’s lips pressed together in a firm line as he glared Casey down for a moment or two.

“Fine. Powers it is,” he muttered, focusing his telekinetic abilities to lift himself in the air. Logan ignored the concerned thoughts radiating from the others and focused on Casey standing below him.

“Aw, running away so soon?” They teased, before flicking their claws out and leaping up at Logan. He activated the Phaser without a second thought, his body turning a translucent blue. Casey passed harmlessly through him and landed gracefully behind Logan. He turned to face them, gliding nearer towards the cat-esque inhuman.

“Alrighty ghost man, but how’re you supposed to fight me if you can’t even touch me?” Casey huffed.

“You are aware of what telekinetic means, yes?” Logan smirked, focusing his mental abilities to lift up a nearby table, despite Remy’s squawks of protest. He barely gave Casey the chance to eye it warily before he sent it flying at them. In the blink of an eye, Casey leaped out of the way… and right into Logan. Not that Logan was worried, the Phaser was activated. Until he realized that Casey had managed to hit the deactivation button. In an instant, Logan became tangible again, and Casey’s hand had grasped his wrist. They used the momentum from their jump to swing around and mount Logan’s shoulders. Before he could fully comprehend what happened, Casey had sheathed their claws and their fingertips were pressed to his temple. Logan felt a strange draining sensation, and the glowing blue details of his suit flickered out as both he and Casey fell to the floor. Casey managed to dislodge themself from Logan, landing semi-gracefully. Logan, on the other hand, was not so lucky and face planted into the floor. He groaned as he shifted in a sitting position, massaging his temple.

“That was very impressive Casey. Perhaps we can-” Logan’s sentence cut off as his gaze finally traveled over to Casey. They were crouched on the floor, helmet discarded beside them as they clutched at their fiery auburn hair. Their breathing was coming in uneven gasps, and Logan scrambled to their side immediately.

“Casey? I need you to breathe,” Logan ordered gently, hands hovering near them but not quite touching them yet.

“I- I can’t… it’s too much, too loud, I can’t- can’t-” they gasped out, gaze finally meeting Logan’s. Their green eyes were flickering to a glowing blue, and objects began hovering around them at Casey’s distress.

“I know, Casey. Just focus on my voice. Can you do that for me?” Logan replied, voice clear and calm. They swallowed nervously but gave a slight nod.

“Kay. I can- I can- can try,” they stuttered.

“Very good, you’re doing well, Casey. Just focus on me, let everything else go,” Logan soothed. Casey took a few more shuddering deep breaths, and soon the blue glow faded from their eyes, and Logan felt a rush of power come back to him. Casey slumped into him, hands cradled to their chest as they continued to catch their breath.

“Dude. Is that what it’s like for you all the time?” They asked, pulling away to look at Logan with concern. He opened his mouth to reply, but an alarm blared before he got the chance.

“What is it?” Logan asked, his tone commanding. Remy scrambled over to one of his computers, tapping at the screen.

“An inhuman is robbing a technology store, there’s civilians in harm’s way,” Remy answered.

“What are their powers?” Virgil asked, already shucking off his hoodie so that he could get his suit on.

“Dunno. Security camera footage has been cut, and the area seems to be in a technological dead zone. We’re lucky we got the alert at all,” Remy answered.

“So we’re dealing with a massive EMP blast or a master hacker?” Roman theorized, holding out his arm and calling his suit to him.

“Could be. But why would an inhuman go to such an extent?” Logan pondered as he stood up, helping Casey to their feet as well.

“It doesn’t matter, Remy said people are getting hurt!” Patton exclaimed.

“Patton’s right, let’s go,” Casey said, fists clenched at their sides, expression defiant and haughty.

“Whoa there, you are not going anywhere out in the field right now,” Virgil ordered.

“Why not?! I can handle myself just fine! I took Logan down,” Casey protested, crossing their arms.

“Yeah, and immediately spiraled into a panic attack because Logan’s powers were too much for you. You’re. Staying. Here.” Virgil’s eyes flickered violet, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

“But-”

“Casey, please stay here for the time being. We will discuss this later,” Logan said, giving them a firm pat on the shoulder. They sighed in defeat but nodded. Logan gave Casey a thin smile, then turned to his team.

“Let’s suit up and move out.”

* * *

They arrived at the scene of the crime shortly after. Each of them was clad in their suits: Roman in his robotic white knight armor, Virgil in his black suit with a purple lightning bolt across the chest and hooded cape, and Patton in his pale blue suit with swirling gray details and high-tech aviator goggles over his eyes.

“Knight, scan the area for the inhuman. Aves, get the civilians out. Thunderclap, you’re with me providing cover for the civilians,” Logan ordered, first looking to Roman, then Patton, and then finally Virgil. The three of them nodded curtly. Patton immediately moved to help a mother and her daughter who were cowering in a corner. He cooed softly at the little girl, telling her that they would be okay.

“Specter!” Roman called out, snapping the telepath from the heartwarming scene.

“Yes?”

“My scans aren’t picking anything up, it’s like there’s no one here,” he reported.

“So what, the technology store trashed and robbed itself?” Virgil scoffed.

“Yeah!” a small voice piped up. The heroes’ heads turned to the small girl that Patton was escorting out of the building.

“She’s right… I think. Everything seemed normal. But then the computers, laptops, phones- every piece of technology here just… freaked out,” the girl’s mother said. The heroes exchanged nervous glances.

“Thank you for the information, ma’am. Let’s get you and your daughter to safety,” Patton murmured, shepherding the two of them to the police waiting outside.

“The technology just… came alive? But that’s impossible,” Logan murmured.

“You look in the mirror lately? We’re all a couple of impossibles,” Virgil scoffed. Logan sighed, then opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a jarring technological screech. All three heroes instinctively put their hands over their ears, though it didn’t do much to combat the awful sound reverberating through their skulls.

One of the computes flickered on, a blazing orange color taking up the entire screen. It glitched occasionally, showing someone wearing a mask much like a medieval doctor’s mask, with goggles and a pointed black beak. The glitches grew in frequency, and the screech’s pitch increased, causing the three heroes to fall to their knees.

The glitches suddenly sprang from the computer screen, and the figure- a woman, Logan realized- wearing the doctor’s mask stood before them. Her long dark hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she wore an orange jumpsuit of sorts, black gloves, and black boots along with the mask. Her body still glitched occasionally, and Logan could sense anger and confidence rolling off of her in waves.

“Hello, boys. Name’s Voltaic,” she said simply, and before any of them could say anything, she strode over to where Roman had fallen to his knees. She began to glitch more and more with each step. Roman tried to scramble away, but Voltaic placed a hand on his helmet before he got very far. The touch was light, Roman should have barely felt it, but it caused him to scream in agony.

“NO! What are you doing to him!?” Virgil cried, lightning buzzing at his fingertips as he shot to his feet. Voltaic didn’t reply, but Logan was sure she was smirking underneath the mask.

Before any of them could do or say anything more, Voltaic glitched one more time, then disappeared. Roman shuddered, then slumped over, his suit seeming to power down. Virgil immediately rushed to his side, taking his face into his hands and trying to pry up the faceplate.

“No, no no no! C’mon, please-” Virgil’s desperate cries are cut off by a choked, strangled sound as Roman’s hand suddenly flew up and closed around his throat. Roman rose to his feet, still gripping Virgil, the visor in his helmet glowing orange instead of gold.

“Looks like I’ve got a new toy. Let’s play, boys,” a cold voice came from Roman’s suit. Voltaic’s.


	4. The Kids Aren't Alright

After Voltaic uttered those words through Roman’s suit, she hurled Virgil across the room… and right into a very confused Patton. The two of them tumbled to the ground, and Logan shot to his feet in an instant. He reached out with his thoughts, relieved to find that Roman was alright, just unconscious.

_ “Roman is merely unconscious, but the inhuman calling herself Voltaic has taken control of his suit,” _ Logan thought to Patton and Virgil.

_ “We gotta get her outta there!” _ Patton exclaimed through the telekinetic link. He scrambled to his feet, wings fluttering anxiously as he helped Virgil up.

_ “Yeah, but how? Roman’s our techie!” _ Virgil mentally protested while he rubbed at the forming bruises around his neck. Patton immediately took on a soft golden glow, putting a hand to Virgil’s neck and causing the bruises to heal.

_ “What about Remy?” _ Patton asked.

_ “We can’t trust the comms right now, we don’t know the extent of Voltaic’s technological influence,” _ Logan replied.

“Ohhh boyyysss… did you forget about me?” Voltaic sing-songed, her voice metallic and tinny. The heroes’ gaze shifted to her, only to see just about every missile launcher and weapons system in Roman’s suit aimed at them.

“Get down!” Logan cried, shoving the others aside just as she fired at them. They barely cleared the blast in time, but Logan ended up getting thrown back from the explosion, slamming into the wall. His vision blurred, and it was like someone had hit a mute button. The sounds and chaos around him seemed to melt away, replaced by a ringing in his ears and the feeling of his head being stuffed with cotton. He groaned, rolling over onto his back and trying to get his vision to focus again. Everything ached all over, but he had to get up. The others needed his help. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling slightly and putting a hand to his head.

A sharp scream of pain clears Logan’s head instantly.  _ Patton. _ His gaze snapped over to see the winged hero slumped on the ground, unmoving, with Roman’s villain-possessed armor standing over him with the sword drawn. Virgil launched himself at Voltaic, lightning crackling over his fingertips, but with a few electric pulse blasts from Roman’s suit, he was down for the count. Roman’s sword was poised above Voltaic’s head, aiming straight for the space between Patton’s wings.

“NO!” Logan cried, sending out a powerful telekinetic attack. Voltaic shrieked in pain, getting thrown from Roman’s suit in a series of blazing orange glitches. Roman’s suit immediately went limp, the sword falling from his fingers and narrowly missing Patton. He toppled backwards and fell in a heap beside Patton. Logan darted over, keeping an eye on Voltaic sprawled on the ground a few feet away from them. He helped Virgil to his feet, then walked over to check on Patton and Roman. Patton stirred at Logan’s touch, but Roman didn’t react when Virgil knelt next to him.

“Well boys, as much as I’d like to say I’ve been having fun- I haven’t,” Voltaic drawled, and Logan whipped his head over to see the villain on her feet again. Logan jumped to his feet, standing protectively in front of his team. His visor and the lines on his suit glowed a dangerously serene cobalt blue.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll surrender,” Logan growled.

“What, because a jail cell or a psychiatric ward is what’s good for me?” she scoffed.

“And stealing technology and harming innocents is?” Logan shot back. Voltaic threw her head back in laughter, the sound technological and jarring.

“This was never just a robbery, Specter,” she hissed, and with a snap of her fingers, disappeared in a flurry of orange glitches. Logan rushed forward too late, and he stood in shock for a few moments.

“Specter!” Virgil’s voice called out. Logan whirled around to see Virgil kneeling beside Patton and Roman. Patton had pushed himself to his hands and knees, while Roman still hadn’t moved. Logan immediately moved to help Patton to his feet.

“Are you alright, Aves?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine! Just a little woozy… what about you? Voltaic threw you into a wall,” Patton said, stumbling into Logan slightly while trying to reach out and heal his injuries.

“Just some light bruising. Some ice and I will be fine, there’s no need to strain yourself,” Logan insisted, despite the aches and pains he could very much feel all over his body. Patton frowned, looking like he wanted to protest, but didn’t say anything.

“Aves, you feeling strong enough to carry Knight back to base?” Virgil asked, trying and failing to lift up Roman in his heavy armor.

“Of course!” Patton chirped, and scooped Roman up into his arms with no problem, thanks to his gift of super-strength that came along with his amulet.

“Good… cause I might need to pass out now,” Virgil gasped out, swaying on his feet. Logan was at his side in an instant.

“Thunderclap, what’s wrong? Where are you injured?” Logan fretted, looping an arm around Virgil’s waist to keep him upright.

“I- just sorta… everywhere. Got batted around, now adrenaline’s fading…” Virgil replied, before his eyes fluttered shut and he slumped into Logan’s arms. Logan carefully and quickly scooped the exhausted hero into his arms, despite his aching muscles screaming in protest.

“Let’s go back to base, Aves,” Logan murmured, lifting himself up in the air and being careful not to jostle Virgil. Patton followed suit, white wings gently flapping behind him, and the two of them flew back to Remy’s.

* * *

“Remy, they’re- oh my god!” Casey cried out, once they saw the others fly down through the secret staircase that led from Remy’s lab up to his house. Remy’s eyes widened when he saw the state of the team.

“Gurl, what happened?! Damn, I knew something must’ve gone wrong when I couldn’t reach you on comms,” Remy said, clearing space on a lab table so that Patton could lay Roman down.

“The inhuman could influence technology, she took control of Roman’s suit for a period of time. As far as I can tell, Roman is just unconscious and has no major injuries. Virgil was vague about how injured he was, but he should be fine as well, just needs some rest,” Logan explained.

“And she’s already got a codename, sorry Rem,” Patton said with a huff of effort as he set Roman down on the table.

“Aw come on!” Remy whined. Logan raised an eyebrow at this, lips pressed together in a firm line of disapproval. Remy shrank slightly at the expression.

“She calls herself Voltaic. But there are more important things to be worrying about. Can you get Roman out of his suit?” Logan asked.

“Well duh!” Remy exclaimed, and pressed a button on Roman’s suit. The faceplate flipped up, and the suit began to split down the middle. Roman’s eyes fluttered open, blue eyes hazy with confusion. He slowly sat up, waiting for the suit to fully split open before climbing out.

“Whoa there kiddo, you sure you’re good to be on your feet?” Patton asked, reaching out in case Roman needed assistance.

“I’m fine. I need to get my suit fixed. I’m not sure what effect that villainous, wretched- Virgil!” Roman cried, once his eyes had landed on the hero in Logan’s arms.

“That’s a strange way to describe your boyfriend,” Remy muttered. Patton elbowed him disapprovingly, ignoring the squawk of protest that resulted.

“Is he-”

“He’ll be fine, just needs to rest,” Logan said, handing Virgil over to Roman when he reached his arms out. Roman gazed down at Virgil’s face, and Logan sensed a tumult of emotions spewing from the rich businessman. Regret, self-blame, heartbreak… Roman truly blamed himself for what happened.

“It wasn’t your fault. Voltaic is the one to blame,” Logan said softly.

“But I lost my suit to what, a twisted, living computer virus?! Logan, I don’t even know if Picani is still active! He tried to take the brunt of her attack. He tried to protect me. Protect us,” Roman protested, voice wavering. Remy glanced nervously towards Roman’s suit lying on the table. Logan sensed a deep feeling of concern coming from the eccentric inhuman, which puzzled him. Picani wasn’t real, he was just an AI. For what reason would Remy have to care so deeply about him?

“I’m sure he’s fine, Roman. And if he’s not, you’ll be able to fix him!” Patton said encouragingly. Roman didn’t look very convinced as he bit his lip nervously.

“Relax, you’re smarter than most of us give you credit for,” a voice piped up from Roman’s arms. Roman let out a slight gasp, gaze snapping back to the man in his arms. Virgil was awake, maybe not quite alert, but awake nonetheless.

“Virgil,” Roman gasped, uttering his name like a prayer. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to Virgil’s lips, causing him to giggle slightly.

“You’re a drama queen. I’m fine,” Virgil huffed, scrambling out of Roman’s arms. Although he was back on his feet again, Roman still kept an arm firmly wrapped around Virgil’s waist.

“I’m not letting you go until Patton gives the a-okay that you’re okay,” Roman protested. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Okay, geez. But only if he looks you over too,” Virgil replied, playfully poking him in the ribs.

“Deal,” Roman murmured, pulling Virgil into another kiss. Logan shook his head, turning away from the couple. Casey walked over to stand beside him, and Logan sensed anxiousness radiating from them.

“Casey, if you’ve come to insist that you could’ve helped, I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” Logan huffed.

“What? Why?!” They hissed.

“You are not as experienced as we are. And even with all our experience, Voltaic beat us. Badly. I shudder to think what she could have done to you,” Logan replied firmly, a trace of soft concern creeping into his tone.

“Seriously?! You guys have only been doing the hero thing for a few months!” Casey protested.

“That is still leagues ahead of what you’ve done,” Logan said firmly.

“But what if she comes back? Or if something else happens? Roman’s not exactly in fighting shape, Virgil needs to heal, and I’m not so sure you’re perfectly okay either!” They exclaimed with a frown.

“Casey, we will be okay. You are young and have a lot of life to live. I know you want to help, but with Virgil being in the condition he is, I am pleading with you to drop this topic for the time being,” Logan said sternly. He could sense that Casey was displeased with the fact that he avoided the topic of his state of injury. However, they didn’t press, and instead nodded with their shoulders slumped.

“Yeah. Okay, okay. I think I’ll just go and hang out with friends or something for a bit. I’ve got a shift at Catpuccino later today anyway,” Casey replied. Logan smiled at the mention of Patton’s cat cafe. When Patton wasn’t Aves, the winged healer, he ran a cat cafe in honor of his deceased younger sister. In fact, Catpuccino was where Logan had first met Patton, before any of the superhero nonsense had really started.

“Are you sure you’re alright with working today? I’m sure Patton would let you have a day off, considering everything,” Logan offered.

“Nah, it’s fine. You’re the one telling me that I’ve got a life to live,” Casey replied with a shrug. However, even though they acted nonchalantly, Logan could still sense irritation bubbling underneath. Inwardly, Logan sighed. He frankly didn’t have the energy to continue fighting it.

“Thank you for understanding,” Logan eventually settled on, his voice soft and caring. Casey twinged with guilt for a moment but nodded sheepishly.

“Um. Yeah, sure. Whatever. I’ll head out now,” Casey said, beginning to walk past Logan. They suddenly halted, turning slightly to look back at Logan. “Take care of yourselves, okay?”

“Of course, Casey,” Logan replied, strangely touched by how concerned they were for the others- no, for him. Casey gave him a small nod, then headed out of the lab.


	5. The Kids In The Dark

In all honesty, Casey expected the conversation with Logan to go much worse. Which worried them. Logan had insisted he was fine, but the fact that he wasn’t more strict with Casey did not bode well. He clearly was hiding something… Casey resolved to confront him, or maybe Patton, about it later. For now, they were heading over to Kai’s house to meet up with him and Elliott before work. The three of them had actually met at Catpuccino. Before Patton had hired Casey, they didn’t really have any friends to speak of. They suspected it wasn’t a coincidence that Patton always put them on the same shift with Kai and Elliott.

“Sup nerd,” Kai said when Casey strolled into his room pretty much unannounced. He was sprawled on the bed, textbooks and notebooks scattered beside him. However, Kai was scrolling through his phone, rather than studying.

“Hey there skater boy,” they replied, flopping down on the edge of his bed, causing a book and a few notebooks to tumble to the floor with a thump.

“Watch it! I was studying,” he whined, looking up from his phone.

“Uh-huh. Sure. Is Elliott here yet?” They asked.

“Nah. They’re on their way though. They texted me a few minutes ago,” Kai answered. Casey simply nodded in reply, causing Kai to raise an eyebrow and sit up.

“What?” They asked defensively.

“Everything good with you? You’re acting kinda weird,” Kai replied. Casey huffed out a breath. They couldn’t exactly tell him that they had superpowers that they weren’t supposed to use, and that their cousin and his superhero team got beat up pretty badly by a supervillain that could manipulate technology.

“I’m fine. It’s just my cousin is… paranoid, I guess. Wants to be sure I’m safe and stuff. Which is nice that he cares, it’s just sorta suffocating. I hate being treated like a kid. I’m an adult! Legally, at least,” Casey said in a huff. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either.

“Okay first, stop rubbing in that you’re eighteen. Second, your cousin does have a point. Have you seen the crazy stuff that’s been going on in this city?” Kai said, holding out his phone to Casey. They had a news site pulled up, with an article with its headline reading “THE KNIGHT ATTACKS METEOR CITY HEROES?” Below the headline was a grainy photo of Roman holding Virgil up by the throat. Casey’s eyes widened. They snatched Kai’s phone from his hand, ignoring his shout of protest, and scrolled down to the article. The first line read: _ what started as an attempt to stop a theft from a technology store turned into a violent feud between our heroes, with the Knight attacking his teammates for no apparent reason, according to witnesses _ .

“No! That’s not what happened!” Casey cried, jamming Kai’s phone back into his open hand.

“How do you know?” he asked, brows furrowed in confusion. Casey froze, internally cursing their lack of a vocal filter.

“Because- because he wouldn’t do that! They all saved the city together. Why would he just attack his teammates out of nowhere?!” Casey shot back, hoping that it was enough to convince Kai.

“Well, how much do really know about these ‘heroes?’ They did just show up out of nowhere a few months ago,” Kai pointed out. Casey bit their lip, trying to figure out how to defend Virgil and the others’ honor without spilling that their cousin, his boyfriend, and their friends were the Meteor City Heroes. And that they themself were a hero-in-training for the team.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to reply, thanks to Elliott arriving. They stepped into Kai’s room, raising an eyebrow at the clear tension in the air. 

“Uh, everything okay in here?” They asked.

“We’re debating about the credibility of the Meteor City Heroes,” Kai explained.

“Kai thinks they can’t be trusted. I think they’re heroes, and there must be some sort of misunderstanding in the supposed Knight attack,” Casey added, crossing their arms.

“Knight attack?” Elliott asked, setting down their bag before sitting on the bed between Casey and Kai.

“Yeah. He attacked his teammates for who knows what reason,” Kai replied. Casey kept their mouth shut, as to not reveal that they knew the reason.

“That’s… weird,” Elliott said, glancing nervously between the two, as if they were hoping their answer wouldn’t anger either of them.

“That’s what I said!” Casey exclaimed, startling poor Elliott so bad that they fell off the bed. Kai rolled his eyes, then leaned over to pull Elliott back up.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what you said. Just more extra and Casey-like,” he teased.

“You’re just jealous of my aesthetic,” Casey shot back.

“Oh yeah, cause nerdy emo kid is exactly the aesthetic I want,” he laughed, rolling his eyes.

“That’s emo-punk person, to you,” they grinned.

“Stop rubbing in that you’re the only legal adult here!”

“Guys, guys, you’re both lovely individuals. But at this rate we’ll be late for our shift at Catpuccino,” Elliott piped up with a sigh.

“Who are you, my parents?” Kai teased.

“Ha ha. You’re so funny,” Elliott deadpanned.

“Relax Elliott, we’ve got like, at least a half-hour until we need to leave for work. So until then… does anyone wanna hear how much of a disaster bi I am?” Casey offered with a grin.

“Wait, are you saying that you might not be the token single friend of the group?!” Kai gasped with exaggerated shock.

“Shut up, she’s just my lab partner for the week,” they grumbled, flushing slightly.

“Oh? From the look on your face, you two must have some serious-”

“I swear to god if you say chemistry I will end you,” Casey snarked playfully.

“You never let me have any fun,” he pouted. Elliott rolled their eyes at their friend’s behavior.

“So about this girl?” Elliott asked. Casey’s eyes lit up almost instantly.

“She’s so pretty! She has these gorgeous amber eyes, and she said my gloves were cool! And she told off some enbyphobic jocks, and she’s athletic and smart, and did I mention she was pretty?” They rambled.

“You might’ve said something about that,” Elliott teased.

“I’m surprised I didn’t spontaneously combust when I was her lab partner. How am I gonna last a whole week?!” Casey groaned, dramatically flopping onto Elliott, who sighed at their behavior but didn’t make any motion to push them off.

“With your luck, she’ll end up being straight,” Kai joked. Casey shot up off of Elliott immediately, glaring at Kai.

“Don’t jinx it!” They hissed.

“I’m just teasing, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Kai replied with a slight laugh.

“Yeah, if they don’t die of disaster bisexual disease first,” Elliott teased, playfully jabbing Casey in the stomach with their elbow.

“Meanie,” they grumbled.

“You are kind of a disaster Casey… but at least you’re our disaster,” Kai said with a cheesy wink.

“Blech, who let you get all sappy,” they replied, sticking out their tongue.

“Your definition of ‘sappy’ is me calling you a disaster?” he laughed. Casey opened their mouth to retort, but Elliott interrupted them before the two of them could spiral into yet another sass-off.

“We should get changed for work.”

“It’s confirmed, Elliott is the parent friend. And I get bathroom first!” Casey said, grabbing their bag with their uniform in it and darting to the bathroom before the others could protest. They could hear various sounds of annoyance as they left the room, and Casey snickered to themself at the sound of it. 

They quickly got changed out of their black t-shirt and olive bomber jacket, and instead put on a blue polo shirt with the Catpuccino logo- a cat poking its head out of a coffee mug- on it. Then they grabbed the gray cat apron from their bag and put that on as well. Then they headed back to the others, and soon they changed into their uniforms too.

“Alright nerds, let’s go,” Kai said, grabbing his car keys. The three of them piled into his car, and they drove to Catpuccino.

* * *

Their shift started fairly normal, with not too many customers coming in, as it was later in the day. However, a little less than halfway through their shift, a certain someone appeared, just to ruin their day. Elodie Lionel. She flounced in with her ridiculously bouncy brown curls. She must have just gotten done with cheer practice since she was wearing her uniform. Elodie walked up to the counter with an unreasonably sunny smile.

“Hi! Can I get a caramel mocha with whipped cream and sprinkles?” she chirped.

“What size?” Casey asked glumly.

“Oh, a medium!” she replied, and Casey grabbed the appropriate sized cup. 

“And your name?” they asked.

“You don’t know?” she replied, seeming irritated. 

“No,” they deadpanned, resisting the urge to smirk.

“Ugh. It’s Elodie,” she sighed, idly twirling one of her curls.

“Thank you,” they said smoothly, then scrawled her name on the cup, passing it off to Kai to make it. Then they gave the amount due and Elodie paid for it, then walked over to the end of the counter to wait for her drink.

“See, she’s not so bad,” Elliott murmured as they brushed past Casey to restock the bakery display.

“That’s what you think. She got this whole high and mighty attitude because I didn’t know her name right away,” Casey muttered.

“But… you actually know her name?” Elliott pointed out.

“That’s not the point,” Casey grumbled.

“And you guys say I’m a drama queen,” Kai teased, walking over after he had given Elodie her mocha.

“That’s a drama agender royal to you,” Casey snarked.

“At least you admit you’re dramatic,” Kai said with a shrug. Casey rolled their eyes, then glanced at the clock.

“Hey, you guys good if I take my break now?” Casey asked.

“Yeah, go ahead, you drama agender royal,” Kai replied with a smirk. Casey laughed, then headed into the back room. They opted to scroll through their phone for their fifteen-minute break. 

Soon they had to go back to the counter, and then Elliott went to take their break. Then Kai went to take his break, and before they knew it, their shift was over. Casey, Kai, and Elliott walked outside to Kai’s car in the evening light, the sun just beginning to set. The three of them bantered back and forth, as normal.

Just then, a blast of fire shot at their feet, flinging the three of them backwards. Casey groaned, ears ringing slightly as they tried to push themself to their feet. They blinked through the smoky haze to see an inhuman with fiery hair standing before them. And not fiery orange like Casey’s hair, but literally on fire. They grinned down at Casey, fire dancing along their fingertips.

“Hey cutie. How bout you help an inhuman in need and give me any valuables you have?” They said, voice mockingly sweet. Casey grit their teeth. They had to stop this inhuman from causing harm, but they were wearing their gloves. How could they take off their gloves without raising the fire inhuman’s suspicion?

“Leave them alone!” a voice cried, and a blast of light suddenly threw the inhuman to the side. Casey’s gaze snapped to the side to see Kai standing a few feet away from them, the palm of his hand glowing.

Casey’s brain did a figurative record scratch. His hand was what now? They blinked, but his hand was definitely glowing. Kai was an inhuman. Or had magical powers that he had hidden for his whole life. But either way, their friend clearly had some sort of superpower.

“What the hell?!” The inhuman screeched.

“I really hope that pun was intentional. A fire inhuman saying ‘what the hell?’ Classic,” Kai commented.

“Looks like someone’s begging to get burned,” they snarled back, forming a fireball in their hands and preparing to throw it at Kai.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” a voice growled from Casey’s other side. They glanced over with a gasp, just in time to see shadows swirl around Elliott, before the inky mass launched itself at the fire inhuman. So apparently both of their friends had powers. Good to know.

“You’re inhumans?” Casey asked when Kai darted over to help them up.

“Uh… to be fair, I didn’t realize Elliott had powers too,” Kai said sheepishly.

“Well then, I guess that makes us a superpowered trio,” Casey replied.

“Shut up. You have powers too?” Elliott asked as they jogged over to stand by Casey and Elliott.

“Yeah, that energy presentation got me more than a hospital visit,” they said, sounding somewhat bitter.

“I got my powers after the energy presentation disaster too,” Elliott said, their tone filled with sympathy.

“Same,” Kai added.

“Are you all done with your moment?” The fire inhuman growled. Their gazes snapped back to them, and Casey glared at the fiery individual.

“Yeah. And now we’re gonna get all done with you,” Casey retorted as they took off their gloves, Kai and Elliott at their side and glaring down the inhuman along with them.


	6. Teenagers

“You think a couple teenagers with superpowers is gonna scare me?” The inhuman snarled, flames dancing along their fingertips.

“We’re the up-and-coming generation, you know. Maybe you should pay more attention to us,” Kai scoffed, the palms of his hands beginning to glow again. The inhuman grit their teeth, then sent a plume of flame hurtling straight for the super-powered trio. With a sharp intake of breath, Elliott quickly raised their hand and caused a shadowy wave to swirl in front of them, effectively shielding them from the blast.

“I gotta get close to them to end this whole thing,” Casey explained to the others.

“Why? Hey wait, what are your powers anyway?” Kai asked.

“Oh! I can- look out!” Casey cried, pushing him to the side before a blast of fire could hit Kai. The two of them toppled to the ground, narrowly avoiding the blast.

“You know what? I trust you. We’ll help you get close to them,” Kai replied. Casey smiled as they got to their feet, then helped Kai up as well.

Unfortunately, the moment Kai got back to his feet, he was knocked back down again by Elliott suddenly being thrown right into him. The two of them crumpled to the ground in a heap with various sounds of pain. Casey’s gaze shot over to the inhuman, who was grinning at them with malicious satisfaction.

“That’s it,” Casey growled, then launched themself at the inhuman. They narrowly dodged each punch Casey threw at them. Casey grit their teeth in frustration, trying to remember everything Logan had taught them. If only they had their suit! Then maybe they could stand a chance against the-

Casey let out a strangled scream of pain as the fire inhuman grabbed their arm, their grip like a hot iron brand. The pain nearly brought them to their knees, and they felt tears springing to their eyes. But they had to push through it. The inhuman had willingly gotten close enough to Casey for them to use their powers. They twisted their hand slightly in the inhuman’s grip so that they could grab onto their wrist. In an instant, power and pure fire flooded Casey’s senses. Their arm no longer burned, but they instead felt a blazing heat all over. But it didn’t hurt. Instead, it felt warm, almost comforting. The world around them was tinged in reds and oranges, minus the inhuman, who seemed to be in shades of gray. Their stare was stricken with a surprised horror, before their eyes rolled back and they crumpled to the ground. 

“Casey?” a voice- Elliott, they realized- asked. Their gaze swiveled over to see Kai and Elliott standing a few feet away from them, varying expressions of shock on their face.

“I, uh, can steal powers. Surprise?” They said, smiling nervously.

“You’re on fire!” Kai exclaimed. However, just as he said it, Casey felt the fire inhuman’s powers rush out of them, returning them and their vision to normal… minus their singed clothing.

“Holy crap… that was incredible! You fought them off and stole their powers-”

“Casey!” Elliott interrupted Kai, darting over to Casey and catching them before their knees could give out.

“I’m fine! Just tired out… geez, maybe Virgil had a right to be paranoid…” they muttered. Kai’s eyes widened in realization, and Casey internally cursed their big mouth.

“Wait a minute, your fighting skills, your insistence that the Knight and the other heroes were good… you cousin’s the Knight!” Kai exclaimed. Casey resisted the urge to laugh.

“Well, uh… you’re close, but it’s actually worse than that. The Knight is my cousin’s boyfriend,” they replied.

“I’m sorry, what?” Elliott gasped.

“Look, it’s a long story. And I’m sure they’d be willing to explain it, as well as meet you. In fact, I think I need your help to get back to base…” they trailed off, slumping into Elliott’s hold slightly.

“Hey, whoa! Don’t pass out yet, we don’t know where the base is, and what are we gonna do about the fire inhuman now that they’re unconscious?” Kai demanded, trying to keep Casey awake.

“Call the police, leave an anonymous tip. As for the base, it’s in this eyesore of a rich person’s house. It’s like a white modern-style mansion, but the windows are made with different colors of stained glass,” Casey explained, eyes fluttering slightly.

“The Meteor City Heroes’ base is in Remy Raines’s house?!” Elliott exclaimed.

“Could you say that a little louder? I think someone the next city over might’ve missed that,” Casey muttered, fighting to stay awake.

“Who’s Remy Raines? And more importantly, how’d you know it’s his house that Casey was describing?” Kai asked.

“I had to do a research project on architecture for my art history class. The Raines family has had a surprisingly long history of quirky mansions, which they designed and built themselves, actually! They liked to show off to other architects-”

“Okay okay, thanks Elliott, for the mini nerd-session. But we have more important things to worry about!” Kai interrupted.

“Yeah… like naptime,” Casey murmured, then promptly passed out.

* * *

Remy sat in his lab grumpily, arms crossed over his chest like a petulant child. All because Logan wouldn’t let him get coffee at what he called a “far too late hour.” Eight-thirty in the evening wasn’t too late for coffee! There was no such thing as too late for coffee! Besides, how else was he supposed to help Roman fix his suit, as well as find Picani in its programming without caffeine?!

“Remy, for the last time, you will not get any sleep if you consume any sort of caffeinated drink at this hour,” Logan sighed from across the lab. Remy looked over to see Logan glaring at him from his spot on the couch in the small living room space in the lab. He had long since changed out of his suit, instead wearing dark gray sweatpants and a slightly oversized blue sweater, which Remy suspected he had stolen from Patton.

“Who needs sleep,” Remy grumbled, pouting more than he had been before.

“You do, apparently. Which is alarming since your superpower is putting people to sleep!” Logan snapped.

“Yeah, I can put other people to sleep. Not myself,” he shot back.

“Whoa, what’s with the shouting?” Patton asked, coming down the stairs with a few pizza boxes in hand.

“Oh, thank goodness, Patton’s back,” Virgil sighed in relief from the couch across from Logan.

“Thanks for getting us pizza!” Roman exclaimed, jumping up from his seat at the lab table his suit was on, then darting over to Patton.

“Of course! Anything for the hungry geniuses!” Patton chirped. Remy shot up, about to open his mouth to ask for coffee. But of course, Logan had to speak up before he got the chance.

“No coffee, Remy,” he muttered. Remy stuck out his tongue in response.

“Ah, so is that what the yelling was about?” Patton asked.

“Yeah, Remy wants coffee, Logan told him no, it’s made both of them insufferable,” Virgil replied.

“I am not insufferable!” Logan protested.

“Aw, of course you aren’t, honey!” Patton cooed. Logan flushed slightly, biting his lip.

“Thank you,” he said after a moment or two. Patton frowned, glancing at Logan with concern.

“Everything okay, Logan? Do you need cuddles?” Patton asked. Logan flushed deeper but sheepishly nodded. Patton handed the pizzas over to Roman without another word, then flopped onto the couch beside Logan. He didn’t seem to notice the wince of pain Logan tried to hide when he flopped down and snuggled into him, but Remy did.

However, before he was able to call him out on it, Remy’s doorbell system went off. He furrowed his brows in confusion, looking over to his computer. He accessed his security camera feed and clicked on the one that was hooked up to the camera at his front door. Two teenagers he didn’t recognize stood outside… and they were supporting Casey between them.

“Uh, Virgil? Hun? You may want to see who’s at the door,” Remy said nervously. Virgil raised an eyebrow in confusion, but clambered to his feet and went to Remy’s side. He looked at the video feed on the computer, and his eyes widened in shock when he registered what he was seeing on the screen.

“Casey?! And their friends Kai and Elliott? Why are they- something bad must’ve happened if Casey told them to bring them here,” Virgil gasped, turning to dart out of the lab and up the stairs.

“Gurl wait for me! This is my house!” Remy protested, following after Virgil. He went up the steps two at a time to catch up with Virgil. They made it to the top of the stairs, and out through the secret entrance in the fireplace in Remy’s living room. Remy pushed in a section at the top of the fireplace, and it closed up behind them. Then they quickly made their way through Remy’s house to the front door. Remy opened the door without a word, then looked down at the kids on his doorstep.

“Are you Mr. Raines? We’re sorry to bother you, but Casey told us to come here-”

“What happened to them?!” Virgil demanded, pushing past Remy and interrupting the teenager wearing dark clothes and eye makeup.

“A fire inhuman attacked us after work, but with Casey’s help, we took them down and turned them in to the police!” The teenager with the checkered shirt and hat said.

“What?!” Virgil cried. Casey stirred at Virgil’s tone, their green eyes blinking up at them blearily.

“How’s anyone supposed to get any sleep around here?” They whined.

“Casey! You’re okay! But… why did you tell them to bring you here?!” Virgil demanded, tone shifting from relief to anger in an instant.

“They’re inhumans too!” Casey replied. Virgil’s mouth hung open in shock, while Remy grinned in excitement.

“More inhumans! Yes, come in, come in!” Remy said, pulling the three teenagers inside.

“Uh… Mr. Raines?” The emo teenager asked.

“Gurl, just call me Remy!”

“Oh. Uh. Okay. I’m Elliott,” they replied.

“And I’m Kai,” the other teenager added.

“Good to know. We’ll talk powers when we get down to my lab,” Remy said, leading them to his living room.

“Wait, lab? Elliott said your family was a bunch of architects?” Kai asked. 

“Aw hun, that’s just a cover story,” Remy answered with a wink. They had now made it to Remy’s living room, and he walked over to the fireplace, pushing the section in once more. This time, the fireplace slid open, revealing the hidden set of stairs. Kai and Elliott both gasped in surprise, while Casey gave a weak smile in response.

“Welcome to base,” Casey murmured. The three teenagers followed Remy and Virgil down the stairs, and into the lab. Logan was the first to notice they had come down, and he carefully dislodged Patton to stand up.

“What? Why have you brought all of them- oh,” Logan said, clearly having sensed their thoughts.

“Logan? Honey, what’s happening?” Patton asked, standing up as well.

“Casey’s friends… they’re inhumans. And all of them have a lot of explaining to do,” Logan said sternly. The teenagers glanced nervously among each other.

“Wait, Casey, are you hurt?!” Patton gasped, shrugging off his shirt, then putting a hand to his amulet and summoning his wings. Kai and Elliott’s mouths fell open, while Logan facepalmed and muttered something about secret identities. Patton ignored him and flew over to Casey and the others.

“Patton… you’re Aves?!” Elliott exclaimed.

“Sure am, kiddo! Pretty neat that your boss is a superhero, huh?” Patton grinned. He reached out towards Casey, a soft golden glow encircling him, and they sheepishly held out their arm. A burn in the shape of a handprint was on their arm, and Patton let out a gasp.

“Uh… yeah. There was a fire inhuman, they grabbed onto me before I was able to take their powers. It stopped hurting after I managed to get their powers, but there is still this mark here,” Casey explained.

“Aw kiddo…” Patton cooed, gently taking Casey’s arm in his hands. The golden glow around Patton seeped into their arm, and bit by bit, the burn healed and faded away.

“Whoa…” Elliott gasped.

“That is so cool,” Kai murmured.

“Uh… when did we start letting Casey bring their friends here?” Roman asked as he walked over from the lab table his suit was on.

“We didn’t,” Logan sighed.

“Holy shi- Mr. Chevalier?!” Elliott asked, their voice nearly a squeal.

“Who?” Kai asked, seeming disinterested. Roman made an offended sound, placing a hand to his chest in dramatized shock.

“I am-”

“Roman Chevalier, CEO of Chevalier Laboratories?! As in ‘Battle of Chevalier Labs’, Chevalier Laboratories?!” Elliot exclaimed in disbelief.

“Oh. Knew that name sounded familiar,” Kai replied with a shrug.

“Well, you’re mostly right, but you forgot one important detail! Not only am I Roman Chevalier,  _ genius _ CEO of Chevalier Labs, but I am also everyone’s favorite armored superhero: the Knight!” he exclaimed proudly. Logan groaned and buried his face in his hands again, while Elliott, Casey, and Kai exchanged nervous glances.

“Uh, have you seen the news recently? I’m not so sure you’re ‘everyone’s favorite,’” Kai said. The room fell silent at this, Roman’s eyes going wide.

“What?” he gasped. Before Kai could get the chance to reply, Logan cut him off.

“That’s it, I’m calling an official team meeting right now. Remy, clear a space in the lab. We clearly have many issues to sort out. Starting with our teenagers.”


	7. Gloom Boys

The team of heroes, the teenagers, and Remy were gathered around a lab table that he had cleared off. Logan definitely seemed to be at his wit’s end, and Remy didn’t need to be a telepath to know that the kids were mildly terrified or at least somewhat nervous about the prospect of explaining what exactly happened to Logan. And while Logan could read minds, Remy could tell he wanted them to tell him, and the others, directly.

“Casey? I would like you to explain what exactly happened tonight,” Logan said, voice firm, but not demanding. They gulped nervously, then took a deep breath.

“Well, we went to work as normal, then after our shift was over, we were walking back to Kai’s car. That was when we got ambushed by a fire inhuman. It probably wouldn’t have ended well if Kai and Elliott weren’t there,” Casey explained.

“And you properly apprehended the inhuman?” Logan asked.

“Yes, we left an anonymous tip for the police after I took their powers,” Casey replied.

“Good. Now Kai, Elliott. Casey said you were inhumans?” Logan prompted, glancing between the other two teenagers.

“Um… yeah. I got my powers not long after the accident at Meteor City High. I don’t really know the extent of my powers, but…” Kai trailed off as he raised a hand up towards the overhead light above the lab table. The light shining from the bulb seemed to stretch out towards him until it seeped completely from the lightbulb and pooled in the palm of his hand. He held it there for a moment or two, then the light zipped from his palm and back into the bulb.

“You manipulate electricity? Or is it just light?” Logan asked, a fascinated gleam in his eyes.

“Just light. I also… ugh, this is embarrassing… I also glow. Sometimes,” he said sheepishly.

“Oh. Em. Gee. Your codename is so gonna be Sunbeam. Ooh wait, or maybe Luster Lad,” Remy grinned.

“Excuse me, what?” Kai spluttered.

“No one is getting codenames. Not yet, at least,” Logan said, glaring at Remy.

“Hold on Logan, what do you mean, ‘not yet?’ They’re kids!” Virgil protested.

“Kids become adults eventually, Virgil. Now Elliott, what about you?” Logan asked before Virgil had a chance to protest again.

“Well, I can’t really show off like Kai did, but I can manipulate shadows. And I’ve teleported through them once, on accident,” Elliott replied. Remy opened his mouth to rattle off codename ideas, but Logan glared at him before he could. He snapped his mouth shut, crossing his arms and slouching slightly.

“I wasn’t gonna come up with a codename,” he pouted.

“Remy, I can read minds. I knew you were going to. Now… there comes the matter of Kai’s rather perplexing comment earlier,” Logan said, tone edging with worry.

“Well, uh, you see… maybe it’s easier if we just show you,” Kai sighed, starting to pull out his phone.

“Hold up there, hun. It’ll be a heck of a lot easier for everyone to see if I pull it up with my computer,” Remy said, walking over to the large monitor a few feet away from the lab table they were gathered around.

“The article we saw was from the Meteor City Herald, but I’ll bet just about any reliable news source in the area would be talking about this,” Kai said, as Remy began typing at the keyboard. Remy, and the others as they drew closer to the screen, soon understood what Kai meant. Just by typing in “meteor city heroes news”, there were several hits with article names titled things like “METEOR CITY HEROES’ VIOLENT FEUD WILL SEND OUR CITY INTO RUIN” and “THE KNIGHT BETRAYS HIS FELLOW HEROES”. There was the article Kai had mentioned too, titled “THE KNIGHT ATTACKS METEOR CITY HEROES?” Remy looked back at the team of heroes, eyes wide. Patton looked like he was about to cry, both hands clasped over his mouth. Virgil’s eyes were flickering purple, and lightning was beginning to crackle over his clenched fists. Roman was almost deathly pale and looked like he wanted to throw up. Meanwhile, Logan seemed numb, the only hint of emotion was his wide eyes and eyebrows raised in shock.

“That was what she meant,” he gasped. 

“What who meant?” Patton asked, dropping his hands from his mouth, instead nervously clutching at the blue gem of his amulet.

“Voltaic… before she disappeared, she said that it wasn’t just a robbery. She’s trying to ruin our reputation… how could I have missed that?!” Logan exclaimed, running his hands through his hair.

“Logan, this isn’t your fault,” Patton said, reaching out to touch Logan’s arm. He visibly flinched, expression heartbroken, when Logan jerked away from him.

“I’m a telepath! I’m supposed to be able to read minds, how could I have not seen it?!” he replied harshly. His gray eyes were like storm clouds, the flickers of blue from his telekinetic powers like lightning striking through them.

“Logan, I get you’re upset. We all are. But don’t take this out on us, otherwise what Voltaic is trying to convince the public may as well be true,” Virgil said firmly, glaring him down. Logan blinks, glancing around the room as if he’s taking everything in for the first time. His gaze lands on Patton, and Logan’s face softens with realization and guilt.

“Patton, I-” Logan paused, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry. I need some air- there’s just too much… I will return shortly.” He briskly walked away from the group, grabbing his gray blazer from where it was laid over one of the lab tables.

“But what about us?” Casey blurted, halting Logan in his steps. He sighed, tugging his blazer on over his black dress shirt before turning to look back at the teenagers.

“Your friends can stay here for the time being. We will discuss the exact arrangement after this Voltaic mess is over,” Logan replied, then turned to head up the stairs. Patton moved to follow him but was stopped by Virgil’s hand on his shoulder.

“Just give him some space, for now. He’ll come around,” he said softly. Patton sighed, placing a hand over Virgil’s on his shoulder.

“I know. I don’t wanna overwhelm him… but I don’t really want him to be alone, either,” Patton replied, staring over at the stairs wistfully. A rather awkward silence settled over the lab, the only sound being the humming of the various machinery housed there.

“Well, guess the team meeting is over? I’m gonna go back to trying to fix my suit,” Roman said, turning to the lab table where the suit in question was lying.

“Whoa, what? You find out a supervillain is trying to frame you for attacking us, and you go back to fixing your suit like nothing happened?!” Virgil exclaimed in partial surprise and shock as he stepped away from Patton, and towards Roman.

“Um… yeah? How else are we gonna stop her?” Roman asked with a frown. Remy let out a dramatic sigh.

“Gurl. She manipulates technology. You’re basically useless against her,” he scoffed. Roman gasped, an offended and almost distressed sound, hands gesturing uselessly and frantically.

“But what about other emergencies?! I need to have my suit ready! Besides, I can’t just sit around and do nothing!” he exclaimed, looking more and more panicked the more he spoke. Something in Virgil’s expression became soft, and Remy was starting to feel a little guilty.

“Hey, Roman, it’s okay. You aren’t useless-” Virgil paused to glare at Remy, “but I’m just worried about your safety. Just promise me that you won’t do something stupid and reckless once you get it fixed?”  
“But being stupid and reckless is just part of the hero biz, my stormcloud,” Roman replied with a grin. Virgil rolled his eyes, but he was blushing profusely.

“You are SUCH a dork and are gonna be the end of me one of these days.”

“Such harsh words, my dearest tempest!” Roman replied, sweeping Virgil into his arms and lowering him into a dip before anyone else in the room could even blink.

“Roman!” he exclaimed, incredibly flustered.

“Yes?” The man in question answered, dropping a kiss to Virgil’s cheek.

“You’re embarrassing me in front of the kids!” Virgil squeaked. Roman spared a glance over to the teenagers, who were looking anywhere but at the dramatic businessman and his boyfriend. He chuckled and pulled Virgil back up to his feet.

“We have kids now? Virgil, aren’t we moving this relationship a little fast?” he teased. Virgil quickly dislodged himself from Roman, elbowing him a bit too hard to be playful, but not hard enough to hurt him.

“Shut up!” he retorted.

“Aww, you know you love me. Now kids!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and looking to the teenage inhumans with a glimmer in his eyes.

“Uh… yeah?” Kai asked.

“Who wants to see the Knight suit up close?” he offered in a sing-song voice.

“Isn’t it broken?” Kai pointed out.

“I’ve already seen it,” Casey said with a shrug.

“Yes, I wanna see your suit!” Elliott exclaimed, their voice drowning out Casey and Kai’s disinterested responses.

“You are definitely not what I expected from a kid with shadow powers,” Remy commented, raising an eyebrow.

“Their tough emo exterior hides a big ol’ softie!” Kai teased, grinning wickedly at Elliott. They rolled their eyes before giving him a small fond smile.

“And your skater boy aesthetic hides a big nerd,” they shot back.

“Hey!”

“Oh come on, I know you’re excited about seeing the suit, even if it is in disrepair,” Elliott replied, walking over to where Roman had gestured. The others followed suit, and Remy picked up a touchscreen pad that was sitting beside the suit.

“Well, y’all may get to see more than the suit here in a bit! Before you kids dropped in, Roman and I got pretty close to finding Picani,” Remy said, tapping at his screen.

“Picani?” Elliott asked.

“My suit’s AI. He took the brunt of Voltaic’s attack and ended up getting buried deep in the coding of my suit. I don’t know if I can get his hologram up and running again, but we’ll at least be able to hear him,” Roman answered, tapping at his own touchscreen as well.

“Aw, damn, really? I miss seeing that cutie,” Remy sighed wistfully.

“You’ve known what he looks like for one day,” Virgil deadpanned.

“Gurl, I know a cutie when I see one! Plus Picani’s fun to talk to,” Remy shrugged. After uttering the words, Remy paused in his work on the touchscreen and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Patton asked.

“It feels weird, just calling him ‘Picani’. We need a name-name for him,” Remy replied.

“What does ‘Picani’ even stand for, anyhow?” Elliott asked.

“It doesn’t really stand for anything, it’s just the closest word that looks like his system name, D3-P1C4N1,” Roman replied with a shrug. 

“D3? Maybe he could be Doctor Picani?” Elliott suggested.

“He’s already hyped up on cartoon references, we don’t need to add Doctor Who references to the list,” Virgil muttered.

“Maybe we can help him pick out a first name when Roman and Remy get him back!” Patton suggested with a sunny grin.

“Not a bad idea! Although I do like the sound of ‘Doctor Picani’ for him… he’s certainly got enough information in his database to warrant a doctorate… maybe several doctorates,” Roman pointed out.

“Doctors can have first names, Roman,” Virgil scoffed.

“I know that, Tall, Dark, and Stormy!” he shot back.

“Girls, girls! You’re both pretty, and I think I’ve managed to find the good doctor,” Remy said, holding out his touchscreen for Roman to see. Roman’s gaze traveled over the lines of code displayed on the screen, and his face broke into a grin.

“Yes, yes! That’s his coding alright… looks like he was sent into shutdown mode. Here, give me that, I’m gonna see if I can activate him,” Roman said, passing his touchscreen off to Virgil and taking Remy’s instead. A few taps later, and the sound of buzzing static came from Roman’s suit.

“Hello? Can-  _ bzzrt _ \- hear me?” a voice came out from the static, unmistakably Picani.

“You’re a little fuzzy, but we can hear ya, babes!” Remy replied, practically bouncing with the excitement of getting Picani to work again. A long-drawn outburst of static rang out before it cleared and Picani spoke again, this time free of static.

“Hey! I’m no Fuzzy Lumpkins!” Remy chuckled at how indignant the AI sounded.

“Well, how am I supposed to know? Your hologram is down, maybe you are Fuzzy Lumpkins!” Remy retorted.

“No!” Picani replied, and Remy could have sworn it sounded like he was whining.

“Just kidding. I know you aren’t Fuzzy Lumpkins, Picani- actually, speaking of which, we were all just talking about how it’s weird calling you Picani,” Remy said.

“But why? It’s my codename,” he replied, sounding a touch confused.

“It sounds more like a last name, to be honest. So we figured we could call you Doctor Picani, cause your system name starts with D3. But you still need a first name,” Elliott explained.

“Oh! Sounds- wait a minute. Who was that?” Picani asked.

“These are my friends, Elliott and Kai. They’re inhumans,” Casey explained.

“New inhumans?! Do you how do?”

“... what?” Elliott replied, blinking in confusion.

“You’ll get used to it,” Casey muttered.

“Anyway, how does a name- a real name- sound, hun?” Remy asked. There was a long pause as the AI contemplated this.

“I think… I think that would be nice. I’d have to search through various databases to find one I like, but I can’t do that now. My connection to the internet, as well as the Knight suit’s various systems, seems to have been severed,” Picani answered.

“Well then, we’d better get working if we’re gonna get you a name! And if we’re gonna be working, you know what we’d need?” Remy asked with a grin.

“You better not say coffee,” Virgil grumbled.

“Coffee!” Remy exclaimed, just to spite Virgil (and also because yes, he needed coffee).

“But Logan said-”

“Gurl, he went off to mope, which means he isn’t here to say no!” Remy protested. Virgil looked to Patton, a silent plea for help in his eyes.

“Well, if you guys want coffee, you’re going to have to get it yourselves,” Patton said, voice edging into stern dad territory.

“Ughhh! But that means leaving the laaab!” Remy whined. 

“Not if I call Amari! She’s always down for a coffee run,” Roman replied, pulling his phone out with a wicked grin. Virgil let out an exasperated sigh, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“I give up. I’m gonna go lie on the couch and contemplate my life choices,” he grumbled, heading over to the living room space in the lab.

“I’ll go with ya Virge! Just maybe not do the life-contemplating bit. I’m pretty sure there’s still some pizza over there anyway,” Patton said, following after Virgil. The teenagers watched the two heroes walk away for a moment or two, then glanced amongst themselves.

“I think we’ll stick around over here. Can’t believe I’m admitting this, but the technology and science-y stuff is actually pretty interesting,” Kai said.

“Not to say I told you so, but I told you so,” Elliott replied smugly, before turning to Remy and Roman. “So, who’s Amari?”

“She’s like, the baddest bitch I know, besides me. She’s also Roman’s close friend, and his bodyguard. You kids are gonna love her,” Remy replied, grinning widely. The teenagers couldn’t help but grin in response.


	8. Raise No Fool

After Roman had texted Amari to ask for coffee, he and Remy got to work on trying to get Picani re-connected to the systems in Roman’s suit. The process of fixing the suit would go much faster if Picani was able to help. But as of right now, he wasn’t much more than a voice.

“So… Remy, you’re good with naming things! Do you have any suggestions for me?” Picani asked, shaking Remy from his thoughts. He flushed slightly at the compliment before replying.

“Well, uh… I’m only good at codenames for inhumans. Speaking of which, we need to come up with codenames for our newest additions to the club!” 

“But Logan-”

“Can throw a fit about it later, hun. Now, who’s first?” Remy asked, interrupting Casey.

“Well, your previous suggestions were pretty dumb,” Kai grumbled.

“A volunteer! Let’s see… you are definitely not the sunshiney-est guy I’ve met, even for someone with light manipulation. But lemme take a wild guess and say that you’re tired of people not taking you seriously?” Remy asked, ignoring Kai’s previous comment.

“Uh… yeah? I guess?” he replied with a shrug.

“Then you need something more intimidating for a codename. How about… Solar Flare?” Remy suggested with an excited glint in his eyes.

“Drop the ‘Solar’ part, and I’m sold.”

“Flare it is! Elliott’s turn!” Remy said, turning towards them.

“That’s okay, you don’t need to trouble yourself-”

“Gurl, what are you talking about?! I love coming up with codenames!” Remy exclaimed, cutting them off.

“Oh. Okay then, go ahead,” Elliott said with a shrug.

“Mkay. So you’re hella emo, and are gonna want something hella edgy, I presume?” Remy asked.

“Sure?” Elliott replied, sounding rather noncommittal. 

“Hun, that does not sound very confident or reassuring.”

“I don’t really do the whole ‘confident’ thing,” Elliott said, hugging themself slightly.

“Bleak. Also depressing… so how does Void sound for a codename?” Remy suggested, giving them a soft smile. Elliott, surprisingly, gave a small smile of their own back.

“That… actually sounds kinda cool.”

“Of course it is, I came up with it!” Remy replied, turning back to his touchscreen and continuing to help Roman with getting Picani re-connected.

“So… Kai and I have codenames now, I guess. Do you have one, Casey?” Elliott asked, turning to them.

“Oh yeah! Mine’s Copycat!” They exclaimed proudly.

“And their suit is very cat-like. I worked very hard on it, thank you for mentioning that Casey!” Remy chirped, not looking up from his touchscreen.

“Drama queen,” Casey muttered, rolling their eyes.

“You’d better believe it, hun! Speaking of suits, I hope Logan will let y’all become part of the team, or at least start training, cause I have SO many ideas for your suits,” Remy said, sounding like a giddy child talking about what was on their Christmas list. Kai and Elliott glanced at Remy warily, then looked to Casey. 

“Don’t worry. Rem knows what he’s doing,” they reassured them. The other teenagers let out a breath of relief, and the lab fell into relative silence as Remy and Roman worked on re-activating the suit’s systems.

“Hey, Remy?” Picani asked, breaking the rare quietness of the lab.

“Hmm?” he hummed in reply, still tapping at his screen.

“You said you come up with codenames for inhumans… do you have one for yourself?” he asked. Remy’s head shot up from his touchscreen, fingers stilling.

“Uh… I’m not really a hero, babes. I don’t need a codename,” Remy muttered.

“Hold up, you’re an inhuman too?” Kai asked. Remy sighed, setting down his touchscreen.

“Yup. Nothing compared to you guys though. I just put people to sleep,” he said with a shrug.

“Wait, how do you do that? Did you get your powers from the accident too? I don’t remember seeing you at MCHS that day…” Elliott rambled.

“Whoa there gurl, one question at a time. First off, I’ve had these powers for as long as I can remember. Accidentally made my dad pass out the first time he held me,” Remy replied.

“People can be born with powers?!” Kai exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s pretty rare though. My family has researched and kept tabs on inhumans for generations, and no one has managed to figure out why some people are born with powers. Sure, there are definitely theories, one of the more popular ones being that someone born with powers probs has an ancestor that was gifted powers from some sort of otherworldly being, and that those powers just sort of faded throughout time due to them being a recessive trait,” he explained.

“Like Virgil?” Casey asked.

“Virgil is… a special case. The curse that T placed on the Emory family was specific in that the power to manipulate storms would manifest in every generation. And that the powers wouldn’t manifest until the person who previously had them died,” Remy answered.

“Wait, who’s T?” Elliott asked.

“Not who. What,” Roman piped up. Kai and Elliott’s gazes snapped to Roman, both of them looking perplexed. Remy let out a sigh.

“What do you kids know about the Battle of Chevalier Labs?” he asked.

“Some shapeshifting supervillain calling himself Deceit was trying to take over Mr. Chevalier’s company, and generally wanted to wreak havoc on Meteor City. But then the Meteor City Heroes put a stop to him,” Elliott answered slowly, looking more confused than before.

“I’m afraid the full story is far more complicated and dangerous than that. Deceit- Dylan Lionel- was possessed by a being named Timoranimi,” Roman started.

“Timor-what now?” Kai asked.

“This is why we call it T,” Remy muttered.

“Yes, now don’t interrupt. Anyway, while Deceit just wanted my company and to generally wreak havoc, Timoranimi wanted more. T was the living entity of fear, and it fed off of chaos and terror. It wanted the world to plunge into darkness so that it could thrive. We managed to separate Deceit from T, and lock it away so that it could never escape,” Roman explained, voice low and tone grave.

“And Deceit?” Elliott asked.

“Was sent to a mental hospital. Dylan wasn’t exactly a good guy before he got possessed, but having Timoranimi living in his mind for so long… it twisted him into something else. He’s not Dylan anymore… not really. He only answers to Deceit now and is physically unable to tell the truth, instead speaking only in lies. Although, he apparently has started speaking in half-truths now… which honestly may be worse, as no one can really make heads or tails of what he says. At least when it was just lies, we could just take the opposite meaning of what he said. Now, it’s trickier,” Roman continued with a sigh.

“That’s…”

“Really fucked up,” Kai said, finishing Elliott’s sentence.

“Welcome to the hero life, kids,” Remy said with a shrug. A grim silence settled over the lab for a brief period of time as Roman and Remy worked on the suit’s systems.

“Aha! I believe I can get Picani connected to the internet!” Roman declared triumphantly, breaking the silence.

“Oh good! Now I can begin searching for my own name, as well as a codename for Remy!” Picani exclaimed. Remy’s face flushed slightly, and he let out a nervous laugh.

“Gurl, I don’t need a-”  
“Connected!” Roman exclaimed, interrupting Remy.

“Yay! I’ve got access to the internet now… so Remy, about your powers?” Picani asked.

“Oh no no no, babes you are getting your name first!” Remy protested.

“Aw, fine! But… where do I even start?” The AI asked, and Remy was willing to bet that if his hologram was operational, Picani would be looking confused, maybe even a little defeated.

“Well, I guess that depends on what kind of name you want. You want something more ‘traditional’ or something that’s kinda different? And do you want to have your name be more masculine, feminine, or androgynous?” Remy asked.

“Hmm… well, I guess it would be nice if my name could be seen as either masculine or feminine,” Picani said, an almost sheepish tone in his voice.

“I think that’s plenty doable, hun. Why don’t you start there?” Remy offered. Picani made an affirmative noise- something that wasn’t very human-sounding, but was more technological- and presumably began doing some research.

“I think I’ve got it narrowed down to two,” Picani said after a few moments.

“Already?” Kai asked in surprise and slight disbelief.

“Yup! I’m artificial intelligence, remember? It doesn’t take me that long to process a bunch of information,” Picani explained.

“Oh, right. So what names are you down to?” Kai asked.

“Well, the two names I’m between are Morgan and Emile,” Picani said.

“Hmm… well, what do they mean?” Remy asked.

“Morgan means dweller of the sea, bright sea, from the shore of the sea, and was the name of the enchantress and half sister of King Arthur in Arthurian legend. Emile means industrious, excellent, and is also derived from the Roman family name Aemilius,” Picani explained.

“I’m gonna be honest, but I listened to like, none of that. But you mentioned something about me at the end there. Go with that one,” Roman said. Remy rolled his eyes.

“Gurl, he said ‘Roman’ as in people who lived in Rome,” he scoffed.

“How do you know?!” Roman protested, sounding scandalized that not everything was about him.

“Cause I know. Anyway, do you want my opinion, Picani?” Remy asked, thoroughly brushing Roman off to instead focus on his AI, much to the businessman’s annoyance.

“Yes please!”

“Morgan doesn’t suit you. Doctor Emile Picani, on the other hand, has a really nice ring to it. Plus you are pretty excellent,” Remy said with a wink.

“Aw, Remy! You’re so sweet!” Picani- or rather, Emile- exclaimed.

“Well, since that’s sorted out now, Emile, how about we find a codename for Remy?” Roman asked with a sly grin.

“Gurl! I don’t do that hero nonsense! Why should I get a codename?” Remy protested. 

“Well… you’re my hero! You helped get me back, after all!” Emile exclaimed. Remy looked incredibly flustered for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“Well, uh, I guess a codename couldn’t hurt? We should probably make sure that you’re properly online and connected and… stuff,” he rambled.

“Great! So your powers, as you put it, are just putting people to sleep, right? Are there any other powers you have?” Emile asked.

“As far as I know, making peeps fall asleep with a touch is the only power I have. Although, I haven’t really looked into it,” Remy replied with a shrug. Emile fell silent for a moment, presumably doing some research again.

“Well, in that case, I think Hypnos suits you,” Emile said, and if his hologram had been active, Remy was sure he would have been doing that unfairly adorable grin of his.

“Never took you for a Greek mythology buff, Emile,” he teased.

“Oh hush, Hypnos,” Emile shot back. Remy rolled his eyes.

“Y’know, you’re lucky you’re an AI. Cause I would have sent you to sleep ages ago, babes,” he said with no real malice.

“I technically was asleep for a bit there, before you guys re-activated me. I didn’t really like it, AIs don’t dream,” Emile said, sounding wistful.

“Eh, you’re not missing much. Dreams can be hella weird sometimes,” Remy replied.

“Maybe… I bet if I could dream, though, I’d dream of you,” Emile cooed. Remy’s face flushed again, and he desperately wished he was wearing his sunglasses, so that he could at least hide some of his face.

“Did- did the AI just  _ flirt  _ with him?!” Elliott asked in a surprised whisper to Casey.

“Yeah… we’re not really sure why he’s doing that,” Casey replied with a shrug.

“I blame Roman,” Remy grumbled. Roman gave out an offended squawk, causing the teenagers gathered around the lab table to giggle. Roman went into a long winded and dramatic spiel about how he didn’t program Emile to be flirtatious, and that Remy was probably a bad influence. Remy bickered back playfully, and the teenagers couldn’t help but grin at their antics.

* * *

Patton idly toyed with one of the golden wings of his amulet, listening to Roman and Remy arguing. Their argument seemed playful and teasing… at least for now. Patton would be sure to step in if things got hostile, though.

“Everything good, Pat?” Virgil asked, snapping Patton out of his thoughts. He looked away from Roman, Remy, and the kiddos to glance at Virgil. He was sprawled on the couch across from Patton, one leg hooked over the back of the couch, with his head and one of his arms hanging off the edge.

“I’m fine, kiddo! And that can’t be good posture for you,” Patton said with a frown.

“Pat, I’m too gay and too stressed to sit properly,” Virgil scoffed.

“Wait, too stressed?! What’s wrong?” Patton asked, brow furrowing with worry.

“Nuh-uh. I asked first.”

“But I’m-” Virgil cut him off with a skeptical eyebrow raise- which looked more like an eyebrow lower, considering his current position. Patton sighed, gaze flicking to the staircase leading up out of the lab for a moment.

“Worried about Logan?” Virgil asked softly. 

“Yeah,” Patton answered with a sigh.

“Then go talk to him. I think he’s had enough time to cool off a bit,” Virgil said, voice soft and encouraging. Patton grinned widely, jumping up from his seat and rushing over towards the stairs. However, he paused for a moment before running up them, turning to look back at Virgil. He gave him a thumbs up, and Patton gave him a firm nod in reply before heading up the stairs to find Logan.

It turned out Logan was pretty hard to find. That is, until Patton had gone outside, intending to head over to Logan’s apartment, only to notice him sitting on the roof of Remy’s modern-style mansion. He was gazing up at the night sky, seeming relatively at peace. Patton quickly shrugged off his shirt, then put a hand to his amulet and summoned his wings. He flew up to the roof, gently alighting down next to Logan.

“Should have known you would come to check in on me,” Logan said with a soft, loving sigh. He glanced up at Patton and frowned when he saw that he was shirtless. 

“Logan? Is everything-”

“We really must find you a better solution to summoning your wings whenever you need them so that you don’t need to go shirtless all the time,” Logan said, taking off his gray blazer.

“It’s okay! I’m pretty comfortable going shirtless… unless you’re uncomfortable with it, which is fine, I can try not to do it as often…” Patton trailed off as Logan helped him into his blazer, putting it on backwards so that Patton could keep his wings out.

“Patton, that’s not- I don’t mind seeing you shirtless-” Logan paused as he realized the ramifications of his words, blushing slightly. “I am more concerned about your personal comfort, as well as the fact that it is significantly cooler at night. It does bring me relief to know that you are comfortable with your own body, however.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet, Logan! Maybe I could start wearing open-backed shirts? But I do like wearing polo shirts…” Patton trailed off in thought.

“Then I suppose we will just have to come up with open-backed polo shirts,” Logan said with a small smile. Patton giggled before his expression turned more serious. Logan noticed his change in demeanor and looked up to the night sky once more.

“How are you holding up?” Patton asked softly. Logan let out a small sigh.

“I am… adequate,” he answered.

“Logan, no one expects you to have the answers,” Patton pointed out gently, reaching out to put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, pleasantly surprised when Logan didn’t shrug him off. However, Logan did slump over slightly to bury his face in his hands.

“I’m a telekinetic superhero and the team leader. I  _ should _ have all the answers,” Logan uttered softly, guilt and self-loathing intertwined in his tone. The sound of it twisted Patton’s heart.

“That’s not fair on you, Logan,” Patton said with a frown. Logan didn’t reply, instead firmly staring ahead and refusing to meet Patton’s concerned gaze. The winged hero sighed and leaned over to press a soft kiss to Logan’s cheek. Logan startled at the kiss, looking at Patton with wide eyes and a blush over his cheeks.

“Patton?”

“I’m not really sure how to convince you that you don’t need to hold yourself to such a high standard, but believe me when I say that you don’t. You’re a good leader, Logan. And you may be an inhuman, but you are allowed to be human. You’re allowed to make mistakes,” Patton said firmly.

“I… suppose you have a point,” he replied with a small sigh, again refusing to meet Patton’s gaze. Patton reached out, gently tilting Logan’s head back towards him. The two of them held a soft gaze for a moment or two, before Patton boldly leaned closer, capturing Logan’s lips in a soft kiss. Logan let out a soft gasp into the kiss, reaching out to cup the back of Patton’s head, while the other arm wrapped around his waist. Patton’s wings came up to gently wrap around them both, while his hands cupped Logan’s face.

“I think we should go check up on the kids,” Patton murmured when he pulled away slightly to breathe, his and Logan’s breaths mingling together.

“Which kids are you referring to? Casey and their friends, or Remy and our fellow heroes?” Logan replied with a slight smirk.

“Probably both,” Patton said with a giggle. Logan laughed too, stealing another quick kiss from Patton. And maybe a few more too, before the two of them finally came down from the roof, and returned to the lab.


	9. Old Scars/Future Hearts

When Patton and Logan came back to the lab, Roman’s bodyguard was there and had come with coffee for Remy and Roman, as well as drinks for the kids. Her frizzy dark hair was pulled into two buns, making her look a bit like Princess Leia. That is, if Princess Leia was black and wore solid-color pantsuits. (Today’s pantsuit color was dark green.)

“Amari, please do not tell me that you got coffee for those two…” Logan trailed off with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Uh, okay. I did not get coffee for Remy and Roman,” Amari replied with a shrug. Remy took an annoyingly loud slurp of his iced coffee, giving a wide-eyed and innocent stare to Logan.

“I leave for a short period of time, and complete chaos reigns,” Logan sighed.

“Oh no, if it were complete chaos, we would’ve set something on fire by now. Accept the little victories, Logan,” Casey said, taking a sip of their own (probably caffeinated) warm drink.

“Don’t the three of you have school tomorrow? You should not be drinking caffeinated drinks on a school night,” Logan reprimanded, raising an eyebrow at the three teenagers.

“Oh, this is hot chocolate. I don’t like coffee,” Casey said.

“And I’m drinking mint tea. I’m honestly not sure what Kai is drinking… it seems to be mostly whip cream anyhow,” Elliott added, side-eying Kai.

“Mind your own business, Elliott!” Kai exclaimed indignantly, slurping at his drink that seemed to be something chocolate-y, with a large amount of whip cream at the top.

“Kiddos, Logan does have a point. Even though you may not be drinking caffeine, you shouldn’t be up this late on a school night!” Patton reprimanded gently.

“But Daaaaad!” Casey whined, somewhat sarcastically.

“Wait, Patton is Dad? I thought Virgil and Roman were your Dads,” Amari teased. Both Virgil and Roman flushed brightly at this, Roman sputtering in slight shock and embarrassment.

“They’re my cousin, not my child!” Virgil protested.

“Uh huh. But you’re still their legal guardian. Plus it looks like you and Roman have adopted two other kids anyhow,” she replied with a wink.

“Amari!” Roman all but screeched in indignation.

“Well if we get a choice in who’s our super-dads, I vote Patton and Logan. They seem to be the most on top of things. Virgil and Roman are kind of disasters,” Kai said.

“Hey now, don’t talk about your father figures that way,” Logan said with a smirk.

“Wait, did we somehow end up with four dads?” Elliott asked.

“Five if you count Remy,” Amari pointed out.

“Six if you count me!” Emile chimed in.

“Gurl, I cannot be responsible for children,” Remy huffed.

“So… we have six super-dads,” Elliott said, blinking in mild surprise and confusion.

“Well, technically speaking you aren’t considered part of the team yet. But we’re happy to be your- er- father figures if you so desire for the time being,” Logan said, seeming slightly flustered.

“Well, if you guys are interested in getting us some super-siblings, there seems to be some new heroes on the rise… or fall, rather,” Kai said, holding his phone out for the others to see. There was an article with the title “APPEARANCE OF NEW TEENAGE HEROES ENDS IN NEAR DISASTER.”

“Whoa, what?” Casey asked once they had read the title.

“Yup. And you’ll never guess who one of the heroes was,” Kai replied.

“Who?” Elliott asked.

“Elodie Lionel. It says here that she used the alias ‘Shooting Star’, and that she wielded a bow and arrow. She had two partners, apparently they went by Ruby and Sapphire,” Kai explained.

“Like Steven Universe?!” Emile exclaimed.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. Ruby apparently had some sort of fire powers, and Sapphire had ice powers. Their identities didn’t end up getting revealed in the incident, just Elodie’s,” Kai continued.

“What was the incident?” Logan asked.

“Not totally clear. All I can tell is that there was a bank and explosions involved,” Kai replied.

“I don’t get it, why is she suddenly trying to be a hero?” Casey asked, voice edging on fury.

“Wait, who’s Elodie? Why is her name familiar?” Patton asked in confusion.

“She’s a girl Casey’s age, and they’ve pretty much declared her their mortal enemy. And she’s Dylan’s- Deceit’s- niece,” Virgil explained.

“Is she their mortal enemy because of Elodie’s relation to Deceit?” Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She was irritating before her uncle terrorized the city,” Casey huffed, crossing their arms and pouting stubbornly. Logan let out a somewhat amused sigh.

“Ah, teenage rivalries and high school drama. I certainly do not miss that,” Logan said with a soft smirk.

“Aww, now I’m picturing baby teenage Logan. Although I can’t really picture him wearing anything but neckties and dress shirts…” Amari trailed off thoughtfully.

“Nah, I bet Logan had a secret emo phase that he’s hidden from everyone,” Virgil teased. However, none of them were expecting Logan to flush at Virgil’s comment.

“Wait, no way!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Oh. Em. Gee. Our resident nerd was emo!” Remy exclaimed, clapping his hands together excitedly.

“I will not confirm that,” Logan huffed, crossing his arms petulantly.

“But you aren’t denying it…” Roman trailed off in a sing-song voice.

“Please desist,” Logan huffed.

“Aw, it’s okay, Lo! I bet you looked cute in your emo phase,” Patton said cheerily, giving Logan a quick peck on the cheek. This only caused Logan to blush deeper.

“Sappy, romantic dorks,” Amari muttered. Patton playfully stuck out his tongue at Amari, to which she let out a small laugh in response.

“Well, this night has been exciting… but my point from earlier still stands! It’s pretty late for you kiddos! Do you need me to run you home?” Patton asked.

“Nah, Kai drove us here. He can get us home,” Elliott replied.

“Actually, after everything that’s happened tonight… I think I’ll let you guys crash at my place. My parents won’t mind,” Kai said, digging his car keys out of his pocket while he held his overly sweet drink in the other hand.

“Well, that’s settled! I’m glad you kiddos are gonna hang together, it’s good to be around people you care about, and who also care about you, after you’ve been through a traumatic experience. I’ll walk you out, okay?” Patton said softly. He guided the teenagers out of the lab, up the stairs, and out of Remy’s mansion.

“Thanks for everything, Pat,” Casey said, beginning to walk towards Kai’s car with the others. But they stopped in their tracks, turning back towards Patton.

“Everything alright, Casey?” Patton asked, head cocked to one side and wings fluttering gently with concern.

“I’m just… worried. Ever since the fight with Voltaic, Logan’s been pushing people away, Virgil’s more stressed and guarded, and Roman’s doubting himself,” Casey rambled, fidgeting with their gloves. Patton gently took their hands in his. Casey’s emerald green eyes met Patton’s hazel ones, and he squeezed their hands in reassurance when he saw that tears were gathering in their eyes.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You don’t need to worry about anything, that’s why Logan and Virgil are so adamant about you not being on the team yet. While legally, you may be an adult, you’re still very young. You shouldn’t need to feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Patton soothed.

“Everyone keeps saying things like that, but I just don’t know how to stop worrying about you guys. Virgil, you, the others… you’re all like family to me,” they said softly.

“You’re our family too, kiddo. Hug?” Patton asked, holding out his arms. Casey launched themself at him, wrapping their arms around him and being mindful of his wings. Patton gently ran his hand through their hair, and Casey sighed softly at the touch. Patton glanced up at Kai and Elliott, who were standing off to the side semi-awkwardly.

“I’ve got room for you guys! Group hug?” Patton asked, spreading out his wings and hugging Casey with one arm so that he could hold out his other one. Kai and Elliott exchanged glances, before Kai’s face broke out into a lopsided grin, and he rushed over to Patton. Elliott followed after him, and Patton adjusted his grip so that he could hug all three of them, and his wings wrapped around them as well.

“Um… Pat? I think we should probably go home now,” Casey said after a few moments, voice muffled against his chest. Patton pouted slightly, hugging the three teenagers a bit tighter.

“Ack! Patton, you overly lovable bird, we need to breathe!” Casey gasped out with a giggle. Patton sighed, then reluctantly let go of them.

“Yeah, okay. You kids drive home safe, text me when you get to Kai’s?” Patton asked, looking to the three of them with a serious expression.

“We will, don’t worry,” Casey said with a soft smile. The teenagers got into Kai’s car, waving back at Patton before they drove off. Patton watched them leave for a moment, then went back inside.

* * *

Casey woke up groggily, blinking at the sunlight streaming into their room. Wait… not their room. It was Kai’s room. They all somehow managed to squeeze onto Kai’s bed in a tangled mess of limbs. Casey was squeezed between Kai and the wall, and Elliott was on the other side of Kai. Their arm was thrown over both Casey and Kai, and Casey smiled softly at the sight of their best friends dozing peacefully. 

“Good morning,” Elliott mumbled, moving their hand so that they could rub at their eyes.

“No… too early,” Kai whined.

“Kai, we need to go to school. Pretty sure our super-dads would kill us if we skipped,” Casey teased.

“Huh. So your cousin and his boyfriend, and our boss and his boyfriend really are the Meteor City Heroes. I didn’t dream that,” Kai muttered.

“Yeah. This has been a weird couple of days,” Elliott sighed as they clambered out of bed.

“At least with school, there’s some sense of normalcy,” Casey replied, climbing over Kai to get out of his bed. Kai made a mildly annoyed sound at their movement but otherwise didn’t protest.

“I can’t believe the stress of high school is now something to be considered normal,” Kai muttered, half-heartedly crawling out of bed.

“Yup. Welcome to this weird, twisted reality we now live in,” Casey replied, grabbing their jacket from off of the floor. They shrugged it on and readjusted their gloves.

Casey and their friends continued getting ready for school, idly chatting and trying to make things seem normal. As they got into Kai’s car, Casey was beginning to realize that maybe Virgil and the others had a point about keeping them and their friends away from the whole “hero” thing. But a small, rebellious part of Casey still stubbornly wanted to prove themself and be a hero like their cousin and his friends.

The amber-haired inhuman was snapped out of their thoughts when Kai pulled up in front of the Meteor City High School building. The three of them got out of Kai’s car with their backpacks and headed inside to their usual place at the library.

However, as they were on their way to the library, something about the school seemed… different. It was like an air of tension had swept over the school, and everyone in the building seemed to be whispering or muttering about something. Casey, Kai, and Elliott exchanged nervous glances but continued on to the library.

When they reached the library, Kai’s girlfriend Lauren was waiting for them. Which was a little strange, seeing as she typically met with the yearbook committee in the mornings. Kai hugged his girlfriend, then sat down at the table with the others.

“Hey, babe! Little surprised to see you, did yearbook get cancelled?” he asked.

“Yup. Little hard to have a committee meeting if the head of yearbook doesn’t show up,” Lauren sighed with an eye-roll.

“Wait, what?” Casey asked, eyes wide in surprise.

“Yeah. Elodie Lionel never showed up. Weird, huh? I think it has something to do with that Shooting Star disaster the other day, that girl can be such a drama queen sometimes, I swear,” Lauren replied.

“Is that why everyone in the building has been acting so weird this morning?” Elliott asked.

“Nah, probably not. I mean, that could definitely be a part of it, but I don’t think so. I think they’re more just shaken about the attack at some power plant just outside of the city,” Lauren explained. Kai, Elliott, and Casey exchanged wide-eyed glances.

“Hold on, what? What attack?” Elliott asked.

“The one that’s happening right now. Apparently, the power plant started majorly malfunctioning… people are saying that the Knight was the one who sabotaged it,” Lauren answered. Anger boiled within Casey, and they clenched their fists under the table. Elliott gently put a hand on their wrist to steady them, then turned back towards Lauren.

“Why do they say that?” Elliott asked.

“Well, he did just attack them the other day. And he’s strangely missing from the action today. But- take a look at this footage,” Lauren said, pulling out her phone and showing them a grainy video of Virgil, Logan, and Patton all fighting some unseen opponent. That is, until a bolt of orange electricity shot from one of the rods at the power plant, arcing towards Patton and striking him directly. Casey clasped one hand over their mouth at the sight of him writing in pain from the attack. Lauren paused the video, and the image of Patton doubled over in pain with orange electricity crackling over him became frozen on the screen.

“See that electricity? I noticed the same type around the Knight suit in that picture of him holding up Thunderclap. I bet he’s controlling the power plant to attack his former teammates from a remote location,” Lauren said, oddly giddy about her theory. Casey’s hands unclenched from being in fists, and they abruptly stood up from the table. And before any of their friends could say anything, they bolted out of the library, tears streaming down their face.


	10. I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Virgil stood protectively over Patton, trying his best to counteract Voltaic’s attacks with his lighting. Thankfully, Virgil was immune to electrical attacks, seeing as he controlled lighting pretty much on the regular. However, he couldn’t seem to gain control over Voltaic’s electricity. It was like it had a mind of its own.

_ “Virgil… I believe it does have a mind of its own. I think it is an extension of Voltaic herself,” _ Logan thought to him through their telekinetic link. He floated nearby, the Phaser activated and making him more reminiscent of his codename, Specter.

_ “Ugh, fantastic. So how do we stop her?”  _ Virgil asked through the link as he deflected yet another electricity blast. It pushed him back a bit, but he managed to stay upright and not trip over Patton’s fallen form.

_ “I am… not certain. Perhaps if we can figure out where she’s attacking from, we can stop her from there,” _ Logan thought back.

_ “I’m not so sure she’s even here, she hasn’t shown her physical form at all. I’ve got a bad feeling that she’s trying to distract us from something…” _ Virgil’s thought cut off as a particularly large blast of electricity came right at him. He shot a blast of lightning to counteract it, just in time.

_ “Virgil! The control panel that blast just came from… I saw her face flicker there for just a moment. If you overload the system, it might sever her connection,” _ Logan thought.

_ “Worth a shot. Stay with Patton?” _

_ “Like I would leave his side,” _ Logan thought, determination in his tone as he gave Virgil a firm nod. Virgil gave a small but confident smile back, then dashed over to the control panel. The fog at Virgil’s feet grew with each step, and energy crackled in the air alongside him. A thick smell of ozone grew as lightning buzzed between his fingertips, and his eyes flickered violet beneath his hood. With a mighty cry that was dissonant and dark, Virgil raised his hands up and shot lightning at the control panel. Like he expected, the panel pretty much instantly fritzed out, and electrical feedback shot out at Virgil. What he didn’t expect, however, was for it to  _ hurt _ .

He dropped to his knees with a scream. Lightning and electricity swirled around him, a dizzying rush of purple and orange. He tried his best to push back against the electrical blasts, but there was just too much. He had to push through the pain, just focus on getting the control panel to overload. Virgil grit his teeth and struggled to his feet. He glared at the control panel and the orange electricity streaming from it, then gathered his strength and sent a surge of lightning at it. Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick, and the control panel- as well as the whole plant- flickered into darkness.

Virgil fell to his knees with a shuddering gasp, exhausted. He panted as he tried to catch his breath, eyes fluttering slightly. The floor beneath him seemed to be swaying, and he suddenly pitched forward. Fortunately, he did not faceplant onto the concrete and was instead caught by someone. He realized that someone must be Logan, due to the glowing blue lines of the telekinetic hero’s suit.

“I’m okay… just… just tired. Lightning and electricity- it’s never hurt me before,” Virgil gasped out between breaths.

“Probably due to its unique structure, seeing as it seemed to be an extension of Voltaic. Also… not to be the bearer of bad news, but I believe you blacked out most of the city when you overloaded the panel,” Logan replied grimly.

“Shit. Okay. Did not mean to do that. Also… it worries me that she didn’t attack us directly,” Virgil said, moving away slightly so that he wasn’t leaning quite so heavily on Logan.

“That is concerning. Do you think you can fly? We need to get Pa- Aves- back to base,” Logan asked, voice tinged with worry.

“I can manage. We need to get back and figure out Voltaic’s next move, or at least figure out a way to stop her,” Virgil replied as he struggled to his feet. He felt a little woozy for a few moments but was able to blink it away. Virgil could tell Logan was giving him a concerned glance from underneath his visor, but the other hero didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked over to scoop Patton up into his arms, being mindful of his wings. Then, after a sharp nod from Virgil, they took off and headed back to base.

* * *

Casey had been holed up in the bathroom and trying not to cry when the lights suddenly went out. They let out a small yelp at the sudden darkness, clapping a hand over their mouth to belatedly muffle the sound. Was the blackout related to Voltaic? She had attacked the power plant, after all.

The tears they had been trying so hard to hold back came spilling free when they remembered about the power plant attack. The very thing they were trying to not think about. The video of Patton writhing in pain, when just the other night he had been reassuring them and their friends. And worst of all, that people believed that the Knight- Roman- was the cause.

“Casey? That you in there?” a voice asked from the other side of the bathroom stall door. Elliott. They hadn’t even heard footsteps entering the bathroom.

“Yes,” Casey replied with a shuddering sigh, swinging the door open. Elliott gave them a soft look of sympathy, and dimly Casey noticed that their dark makeup was a little tear-streaked.

“C’mon, they’re dismissing students cause of the city-wide blackout. Kai’s gonna drive us to Remy’s,” Elliott said, offering a hand to them. Casey smiled gratefully, taking their hand and letting their friend lead them out of the bathroom. And they were secretly grateful that Elliott didn’t let go of their hand until they made it outside to Kai’s car. 

The two of them wordlessly climbed into his car, and the ride to the eccentric inhuman’s mansion was completely silent. Which gave Casey a lot of time to reflect. In the span of less than an hour, things had changed so drastically. The school’s hallways had been filled with hushed whispers, Elodie had been absent, the Meteor City Heroes were battling against Voltaic, Meteor City lost power… 

Casey’s mind did a record scratch. Elodie was gone from school. Voltaic was on the attack. Elodie’s uncle was a known supervillain. Elodie must be- had to be- Voltaic. Casey had to tell the team when they got to base.

* * *

Virgil rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s fretting once he, Logan, and Patton had returned to base. Meanwhile, off in a different area of the lab, Logan was doing his own fretting about Patton. Except Logan’s fretting was far more justifiable, and more importantly, less dramatic.

“Roman, I told you that I’m fine,” Virgil huffed, crossing his arms. He idly picked at stray threads on his hoodie, having just changed out of his suit. Roman paced in front of him, his hair all but falling out of the bun he usually wore it in. He also had long since given up his usual business wear for a red t-shirt and gray sweatpants. So in short, even while Roman was being overdramatic about the fight against Voltaic, he still managed to be unfairly gorgeous in his rather disheveled state.

“But you almost weren’t fine! You were hurt by Voltaic’s electric blast! What if this is just the beginning? What if bit by bit, you start losing your powers? What if-” Roman’s rambling was cut off by Virgil determinedly stalking forward, firmly but gently taking Roman’s face in his hands, then pulling him into a passionate kiss. Roman made a soft sound, moving to wrap his arms around Virgil but hesitating for a moment. Virgil pulled away, a mildly confused expression on his face. 

That confusion only grew when Roman took his hand and pretty much dragged him up the stairs leading out of the lab. They stopped in the middle of Remy’s living room, and Virgil opened his mouth to say something- but Roman pulled him close and kissed him thoroughly. Virgil made a soft, surprised sound, hands coming up to tangle in Roman’s hair on instinct.

“What-” Virgil said after he broke away to breathe… only to get pulled into another kiss. Roman was moving forward now, one hand slipping down his face, trailing over his neck, then down to grip at Virgil’s hoodie. However, Roman’s movements caused Virgil to stumble backwards, the back of his calves hitting the edge of the coffee table. He let out a muffled cry into the kiss as he felt himself falling backwards, but was luckily caught by Roman.

“Guess we should move this somewhere else,” Roman murmured against his mouth, then swept Virgil into his arms without warning. Virgil barely had time to adjust to the fact that his boyfriend had lifted him up into the air when he was set down again, seated on the couch. And he barely had time to process  _ that _ because suddenly, he found himself with a lapful of Roman.

Roman kissed him passionately, desperately. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind as to where he should put his hands. First, they were in his hair, then softly caressing his face, tracing down his neck, and then tugging at his hoodie. He captured Virgil’s breaths with each soft yet somehow demanding kiss, and Virgil’s hands went to grip at Roman’s waist. Roman made a strangled, pleased sound, surging forward and pushing Virgil into the couch cushions. He broke away from Virgil’s mouth to trail kisses across his jaw and down his neck.

“Not that- ah, Roman- not that I’m not here for this… holy shit- but where did this come from?” Virgil gasped out, shivering at Roman’s touch. Roman let out a shaky breath against his neck, then reluctantly pulled away to look Virgil in the eyes. Virgil’s heart dropped when he saw that there were tears in Roman’s eyes.

“I- I never realized how terrifying it was. To just… just sit on the sidelines like that. I’m not sure if it would have been better or worse if the comms had been active… the news streaming in was horrifying enough to witness. We- Remy, Emile, and I- we had no way of knowing if you and the others were even going to make it home. But you’re here, and you’re alive, and being able to touch you, feel you beneath my hands- I couldn’t get enough of you, it seemed,” Roman explained softly, hands shaking slightly as he reached out to cup Virgil’s face, thumbs gently caressing his cheeks. Virgil placed his hands over Roman’s, blushing and smiling softly. And as he gazed into his boyfriend’s eyes, he realized that there was something he really wanted to say to Roman. He had been nervous about the idea of saying it out loud… but right there? In that moment? It had never been more clear to Virgil.

“Roman, I-” Virgil was cut off by his phone suddenly going off and buzzing insistently in his pocket. Virgil closed his eyes and sighed, leaning his forehead against Roman’s. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone to see who it was… then sat bolt upright, nearly jostling Roman out of his lap.

“Virgil?” Roman asked, running a soothing hand through Virgil’s hair. Virgil didn’t reply, instead immediately answering the call.

“Casey? What’s wrong, are you okay, shouldn’t you be at school?” Virgil asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

“I’m- am I okay?! I was calling to ask you that! Virgil, pretty much all of Meteor City has lost power, they dismissed us from school early,” their voice came from the phone. Virgil let out a nervous laugh.

“Oh. Um, I’m fine. I did sort of… maybe cause the blackout, though,” he replied sheepishly.

“... you did what?!”

“Look, it was the only way to stop Voltaic’s attack,” Virgil huffed.

“Well… I guess that’s fair. Speaking of Voltaic… I think I know who she is. I’ll explain to the team once we get to Remy’s,” Casey replied. Virgil and Roman exchanged surprised glances.

“Wait, what are you talking about, is she someone we know?” Virgil demanded.

“I’ll explain everything when we get there, I promise. Bye Virge,” Casey said, and the line went dead. Virgil looked to Roman, utterly perplexed.

“That’s… rather ominous,” Roman muttered.

“Guess we’ll just have to wait… let’s go down and join the others,” Virgil sighed. Roman pouted a bit, but gave Virgil a quick kiss and hopped off his lap. He headed towards the fireplace but halted suddenly. He turned to look back at Virgil with a curious expression.

“Virgil… what was it you were going to tell me before Casey called?” Roman asked. Virgil’s face flushed again, and he refused to meet his boyfriend’s gaze.

“It’s- it’s not- we have more important things to worry about,” Virgil stammered, grabbing Roman’s arm and pulling him through the hidden door in the fireplace before he could protest.


	11. Trade Mistakes

When Casey, Kai, and Elliott arrived at Remy’s mansion, they were surprised that Logan wanted them to meet in the lounge of Remy’s lab, rather than the table they usually gathered around. However, considering that all of the heroes looked exhausted, Casey could understand Logan’s insistence on the different meeting spot. Patton was slumped against Logan, eyes blinking tiredly as Logan ran a soothing hand through his feathers. Logan seemed like he was doing fine, but the tiredness in his gray eyes told Casey otherwise. Roman and Virgil seemed more alert, but Roman’s hair was falling out of its usual neat bun, and Virgil was hunching into his hoodie. The only one who seemed truly alert was Remy, who was sat cross-legged on an ottoman, but then again that could be due to the iced coffee he was holding.

“So… care to explain what you mentioned to me on the phone?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. Casey took a deep breath, closing their eyes for a brief moment, then looked back to the team.

“I think I’ve figured out who Voltaic is. Elodie Lionel,” they said. Various looks of surprise crossed the team members’ faces, and Virgil opened his mouth to protest. However, he was cut off by Logan gently raising a hand.

“Explain,” Logan ordered, sounding mildly impatient.

“She wasn’t at school this morning. It can’t be a coincidence that Voltaic was attacking at the same time. Plus she has a motive! Her uncle’s Deceit!” Casey explained, voice getting more frantic as they spoke. Logan and the rest of the team looked unconvinced.

“Casey… this sounds more like a half-brained theory, rather than a fact. Do you have any proof besides those correlations?” Logan asked.

“And what about that ‘Shooting Star’ thing? It seems kinda weird that she’d do something like that if she were really Voltaic,” Patton pointed out.

“That was probably to throw us all off! Just listen to me, please, Elodie has to be-”

“Casey, I believe this theory of yours is based more on your animosity towards Elodie, rather than any real proof. The fact that she was missing today coupled with her uncle being a former supervillain is pretty suspicious, but not enough to claim that she herself is a supervillain. Perhaps the reason she was gone today was that she was ashamed about the incident last night,” Logan explained softly, cutting off their sentence. A lump started to form in Casey’s throat, and their mouth opened and closed uselessly.

“Casey, I know you’re just trying to help, but I think you should leave this to us right now. Why don’t you and the others head back to our apartment? You know where the candles and flashlights are, and there’s nonperishables in the cupboard. You guys can stay there while we try and figure this all out,” Virgil offered gently. Frustrated tears spilled from Casey’s eyes.

“You’re just… pushing us away?” Casey gasped out bitterly. A flash of hurt crossed Virgil’s face before he quickly regained his composure. 

“No, Casey- we’re not pushing you away. We just want you to be safe, and tensions are too high here. How about I drive you kids home? Make sure you’re all okay, then-”

“Why am I always just a kid to you?! To all of you?! I get it, I’m young, I have a long life ahead of me. But with the way things are going right now, no one is going to have a life ahead of them! All of you are pretty much running yourselves into the ground, meanwhile we’re able to help you, and you just say no?!” Casey shouted, interrupting Virgil.

“Casey-”

“You know what? Fine. We’re leaving, and we will come back with proof,” Casey fumed, then stormed off. Their friends glanced nervously between the team and their friend, but soon followed after Casey. Virgil looked like he wanted to follow after Casey as well, but stayed put after a firm yet gentle glance from Logan.

Once Casey and their friends were upstairs, Casey stalked determinedly through the living room, and began heading in the direction of the front door. Kai and Elliott followed them nervously, a little wary of the anger and emotion their friend had just displayed. Kai frowned, then stopped walking. Both Elliott and Casey turned to look back at him.

“Casey… what exactly is our plan here?” he asked.

“We find Elodie, and tell her that we’ve found out who she really is,” Casey shot back, turning back around and starting to walk away again.

“Wait, we’re just gonna walk up to her and accuse her of being a supervillain?” Kai asked incredulously.

“There’s no better proof than hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth,” Casey scoffed.

“But what if you’re wrong? And besides, how are we gonna find Elodie anyhow?” Elliott pointed out. Casey bristled at the possibility that they could be wrong, then sighed.

“Well, there’s only a few places she could be. But my bet? She probably went to visit her uncle and conspire against us with him,” Casey huffed.

“And if she isn’t there?” Kai asked.

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. Let’s go,” Casey demanded and walked away from their friends to avoid further arguments. Kai and Elliott glanced to each other again, seemingly having a conversation without words. They couldn’t exactly let Casey go alone, their impulsive nature would definitely get them into trouble. Or at least, more trouble than they already were getting themself into. So with a pair of heavy sighs, Kai and Elliott followed Casey outside.

* * *

With some stroke of luck- or bad luck, depending on how you saw it- Elodie Lionel was at the Meteor City Mental Hospital. She was leaving the building as Casey and their friends arrived, and it took all of Casey’s willpower to not leap out of the car and give Elodie a piece of their mind. So instead, they waited for Kai to park the car- which felt like it took forever- then unbuckled their seatbelt and opened the car door, rushing to catch up with the suspected supervillain.

“Elodie!” Casey cried. She whipped around, brown curls bouncing obnoxiously. When Elodie registered who it was, she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, so now you know my name?” she scoffed.

“Cut the crap, Elodie. We know who you are,” Casey said, their voice nearly a growl. Elodie’s mouth set into a firm line.

“Uh, yeah. Everyone knows that I was a superhero for like, two seconds. Are you that oblivious to the news or did you just come to rub it in my face?” she shot back.

“I wasn’t referring to your Shooting Star stunt. I was talking about your other alter ego. Voltaic,” Casey replied evenly. Elodie glared them down, seemingly confused and irritated.

“What the hell? I was here, visiting my uncle all morning,” she said with a slight snarl.

“Okay, sure. You visited a known supervillain, then went to the power plant to draw out the Meteor City Heroes, then came back here to tell him what a great job you did,” Casey spat, green eyes flashing with anger.

“My uncle is not a supervillain!” Elodie shrieked.

“Really? Cause nearly destroying the city seems pretty supervillain-y to me,” Casey scoffed.

“My uncle was manipulated and put through severe trauma, to the point where he can’t even physically speak the truth! Then the so-called heroes locked him up here in the name of trying to help him!” she fumed.

“What part of getting treated at a mental hospital is locking him up?!” Casey replied incredulously.

“The part where pretty much all of the doctors are as small-minded as you and don’t even see my uncle. They don’t see a man, they see a monster!” Elodie shouted, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. The sight of it made Casey angrier.

“Small-minded?! Your uncle’s actions nearly killed me and countless others! Besides, Dylan Lionel wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of humanity before he became Deceit,” they snarled. Elodie flinched, then a strange, dangerously calm expression came over her face, even as tears streamed down her face.

“My uncle may not have been the best person, or had the best moral standards. But he cared about me when no one else gave a damn. And no one can take that away from me. Not some being of living fear, not a bunch of supposed heroes, and definitely not you,” she said fiercely, with a slight shake to her voice. And with that, she spun on her heel and walked away, before Casey could say anything more. They moved to follow after her but was stopped by a firm hand on their arm. Their gaze snapped over to see Elliott standing beside them, eyes wide with shock and fear, and shadows twitching beside them restlessly.

“We’re going to yours and Virgil’s apartment like he suggested. What just happened was not okay, Casey. You’re scaring me,” they said softly.

“What? But- we haven’t- she never admitted to being- guys?” Casey stammered, turning to look at Kai. Only to see him looking a bit terrified and angry, the palms of his hands glowing. It felt like Casey’s world had come crashing down around their ears. What had they just done?

“Casey, we’re going to take you home, okay?” Kai asked, regarding Casey like they were some sort of wild animal.

“Guys- I- I’m-” they clapped a shaking hand over their mouth, trying not to cry for the second time that day.

“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we’re going home,” Elliott said, their voice firm yet comforting. Casey nodded stiffly, then let their friends guide them into the car, and then drive them home. All the while, Elliott didn’t let go of their arm. But Casey wasn’t sure if they were doing it to comfort them, or to make sure they wouldn’t do something reckless.

* * *

Back at the lab, after what seemed like ages, the backup generators finally kicked in. Remy and Roman pretty much immediately scrambled back to Roman’s suit. They had been fairly close to getting Emile’s hologram operational before the power had gone out, and both of them desperately hoped that they hadn’t lost their work.

“Heck yes! Emile, we’ll get you ship-shape in no time!” Roman declared victoriously. Remy chuckled softly at his friend’s enthusiasm but quickly got to work. After a few moments of he and Roman working at it, the hologram system looked like it was ready to run.

“Okay babes, you ready to show us your beautiful self?” Remy asked with a grin.

“Yes!” Emile exclaimed, practically squealing. And with that, Remy tapped at his touchscreen, internally crossing his fingers. A golden form flickered out from Roman’s suit, fuzzy at first, but slowly becoming more visible. Soon, “Doctor” Emile Picani stood before them, a vaguely concerned expression on his face.

“How’re you holding up there, Emile?” Remy asked.

“I feel… strange,” Emile replied, his form beginning to glitch slightly. Remy frowned, looking down at his touchscreen.

“Can you elaborate on that, babes?” Remy asked, beginning to tap at the touchscreen. However, before Emile had a chance to reply and before Remy could figure out the problem, there was a sudden shock from the touchscreen, and Remy dropped it with a yelp of pain.

“Remy? Are you okay?” Roman asked, setting down his touchscreen and beginning to walk towards him.

“I’m fine, my touchscreen just freaked out and zapped me for no reason,” Remy huffed, waving Roman off. The businessman frowned, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“That… doesn’t make sense. How could it even do that?” Roman pondered.

“Gurl, how am I supposed to know?! It just zapped me!” Remy snapped. Roman held up his hands in a placating gesture.

“Whoa, I’m not saying it didn’t happen or anything, and I am definitely not blaming you. I’m just trying to figure out  _ how _ it happened!” Roman replied defensively. Remy opened his mouth to give a snarky reply but lost his train of thought when someone suddenly grabbed his arm. Remy’s gaze whipped over to see Emile, and shock overcame his features. And Emile seemed just as surprised. Because somehow, the AI’s hologram form was  _ touching _ Remy.

“Emile? How are you-”

“I don’t know, but something’s wrong, Remy. Very wrong. I can’t seem to gain much control over my hologram systems, it’s like someone else is-” Emile’s voice suddenly cuts out, and his hologram seemingly freezes, with his hand still tightly gripping Remy’s wrist. His hand that is glitching orange.

An ear-splitting technological screech fills the air, and Remy’s heart twisted at the fact that it was Emile’s voice, heavily distorted, screaming in torment. His hologram form was glitching sporadically, Emile’s eyes glowing a blazing, sickening orange. The glitches grew and grew, until the cute and friendly AI could no longer be seen.

The glitches shot up Remy’s arm, originating from where Emile’s hand had been. Remy screamed in agony, the pain forcing him to his knees. He was vaguely aware of voices shouting, but couldn’t make any sense of what they were saying. Remy gritted his teeth, glaring up at what used to be Emile’s face. Now, instead of the curly-haired, glasses-adorned face, a black mask with a pointed beak and goggles stared down at Remy.

“Ah, Remy Raines- or should I say, Hypnos. It’s nice to formally meet you… the name’s Voltaic,” a cold voice came from behind the mask.

“What did you do to him?!” Remy cried, trying to wrench away from Voltaic’s grip. She cocked her head to the side, feigning confusion.

“Who? Oh, you mean that pathetic little AI. I’m not sure, honestly. Just that I used his code to Trojan horse my way into the lab of the Meteor City Heroes,” she sneered.

“You’ll pay for what you did to him!” Remy snarled, trying to launch himself upwards so that he could send Voltaic to sleep with his free hand. But Voltaic saw the attack coming a mile away and snatched his other wrist easily.

“Doesn’t it get tiring, putting other people to sleep? Maybe it’s your turn to sleep, Hypnos,” Voltaic cooed mockingly. There was a flash of orange electricity, and with a scream, Remy’s vision went dark. 


	12. Misery Business

Logan could do nothing but watch in horror as Remy screamed, and collapsed to the ground in a heap after Voltaic released his wrists. She stepped over his body, disdain radiating from her. Her gaze traveled leisurely among the other heroes, seeming unimpressed. Logan could sense fury coming from both Roman and Virgil, and something both sorrowful and angry- perhaps something bordering on heartbreak- was lashing out from Patton. Logan hesitantly reached out towards Remy with his thoughts, afraid of what he’d find. Or rather, that he wouldn’t find anything at all. But fortunately, Remy was alive, and Logan resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

_ “Remy is alright, just unconscious,” _ Logan thought to the others. He got vague feelings of relief in response, but none of them seemed to have their thoughts together enough to give an actual reply.

“So these are the great Meteor City Heroes? I must say, you’re far less impressive without your costumes and masks. A scientist, a bakery owner, a businessman, and a pathetic nobody,” Voltaic sneered.

“Don’t talk about him that way,” Roman snarled, taking a step closer to Voltaic. She sighed, and Logan suspected that she was rolling her eyes under the mask.

“Like you can do anything to stop me, Knight,” Voltaic scoffed. Roman let out a sound that was close to a growl and grabbed his sword from where it was laying next to his suit, and swung it down at Voltaic. However, before the sword could make contact with Voltaic, she vanished. She reappeared a few feet behind him, and Roman whirled around and scowled.

“You know, I shouldn’t have been so surprised that you’re the Knight. I mean, Chevalier? Knight? You might as well have worn a giant neon sign stating who you are. But then, when I was integrated into your AI’s system, and by extension the lab’s system… things got more intriguing. Your brother has such an interesting story, why don’t you ever talk about him to the press?” she taunted. There was silence for a brief moment as confusion swept the room.

“What- what are you? I don’t have a brother?” Roman asked with a perplexed expression, lowering his sword slightly.

“Don’t have a- oh… you don’t know, do you? My, my, that’s going to be an awkward conversation with your parents- oh wait,” she said with a cruel tone. Anger so overwhelming it nearly caused Logan to stumble backwards surged from Roman, and he lunged at Voltaic with a mighty cry. She flicked her wrist, and suddenly the suit that had been lying dormant crackled with orange electricity and sprang up to block Roman’s attack with its shield. Before Roman had a chance to attack again, the suit grabbed him by the throat, then threw him across the room. He smashed into the display cases of the suits that Remy’s parents had made. Glass crashed down around him, cutting his arms and face, but somehow he managed to keep a grip on his sword and weakly struggle to his feet. The suit started to step towards him, charging up its electric pulse blast.

“No!” Virgil cried, leaping up and landing on top of the suit. Lightning crackled between his hands, but before he could do anything with it, the free hand of the suit reached up and threw him off. Virgil crashed into one of the lab tables, and the lightning flickered away from his form as he laid in the wreckage, dazed.

_ “Patton, go to Virgil. Roman, try and go after Voltaic. I will keep the suit occupied,” _ Logan ordered through the mental link. With thoughts of affirmation from the others, they went into action. Using his telekinesis to raise himself in the air, Logan gained the attention of the suit. It fired its electric pulse blast, and with a grunt of effort, Logan willed the blast to halt in midair with his mind. The energy was strange to manipulate, it lashed out at him and tried to break free of the telekinetic hold Logan had on it. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold the blast, so with a mighty shove of his mental focus, Logan sent the blast back at the suit. The blast hit it square in the chest, and its limbs locked up as the electric current traveled through its frame. Then with a shudder, it collapsed to the ground, seemingly inactive. 

Logan lowered himself to the ground, his gaze drifting around to his teammates. Patton was helping Virgil up, a golden glow encircling them both as Patton healed the bumps and bruises Virgil acquired in the fall. But even with Patton’s healing magic, Virgil looked rather weary. Patton was also looking worse for wear, and Logan suspected that the past few days of what felt like non-stop fighting and healing had taken a bigger toll on Patton than the winged hero was letting on. Their gazes met for a brief moment, and Logan’s heart twisted at the fact that Patton put on a smile, despite the exhaustion that he could sense from his boyfriend.

But Logan didn’t get a chance to say or do anything to console Patton, as the sudden sound of groaning metal snapped Logan’s attention away. The suit was getting up again and seemed to be moving much faster than it had before. The suit leapt at him, and Logan instinctively went to activate the Phaser… only to realize too late that he wasn’t wearing it. The suit tackled him to the ground, knocking the wind out of Logan and causing his vision to darken for a minute or two.

By the time the world around Logan somewhat came back into focus, the suit was standing upright, holding him in a vice-like grip and keeping his arms pinned to his sides. It was strangely quiet, the voices of his teammates- friends-  _ family _ , sounding muffled. Logan shook his head with a groan, weakly struggling in the suit’s grip.

“Let him go!” a voice cried, which Logan vaguely recognized to be Patton. Logan squirmed again, frustrated at the fact that it was taking him so long to even recognize the sound of his boyfriend’s voice. He just felt so weak, and tired, and battered… maybe he should have let Patton fuss over him more…

“At least fight us with your true self, instead of hiding behind the technology that you stole,” a voice snarled. Logan blinked blearily, looking up to see Roman with his swordpoint against Voltaic’s neck.

“I’d be careful where you point that sword, Knight,” Voltaic spat, and she made a clenching motion with her hand. The suit’s arms suddenly tightened around Logan, causing him to let out a strangled cry of pain. His head drooped as he breathed in shaky gasps, the suit’s tighter grip making it harder for Logan to take in air.

“What do you want from us, Voltaic?” Virgil demanded, voice echoey and dissonant. 

“For the world to see you as I do,” she growled, again making a clenching motion. The suit’s grip somehow got tighter, and a sickening snap was heard. A scream of pain was ripped from Logan’s throat, and he went completely limp in the suit’s grip, trying to blink the spots from his vision. He couldn’t entirely discern what was broken, but something definitely was.

A cacophony of shouts and screams erupted, and Logan was suddenly dropped to the ground. A whimper of pain escaped his lips as he hit the floor, and he laid still, having no energy to even try and get up. He could only watch as the suit moved to counter an attack from Patton, and as Roman tried his best to incapacitate Voltaic. Virgil was assisting Patton, but from the way things were going, Logan wasn’t sure they could make it out from this one. 

That is, until the slight stirring of Remy a few feet away grabbed Logan’s attention. None of the others noticed his movement. Remy let out a small groan, eyes blinking open. Logan frowned slightly. Even though Remy was awake, at least somewhat, he wouldn’t be much help. He had no hero training.

Wait- training… maybe the team had some hope after all. Virgil wouldn’t like it, hell, Logan wasn’t a big fan of the idea, but they didn’t have much of a choice. Logan took a shuddering breath, gathering the last of his telekinetic strength to send a message to Remy.

_ “Contact… Casey.” _

* * *

Casey had more or less been forcibly sat down on the couch when they and their friends arrived at the apartment. Elliott grabbed the blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch, then put it on Casey’s shoulders. Then they murmured something to Kai about getting some tea for them all. Casey was going to point out that the power was still out, and they weren’t even sure if Virgil had tea in their apartment. However, before they got the chance to, the power flickered on, and Elliott managed to find some tea stashed in the back of a cupboard. Soon after that, a steaming mug of tea (with a little bit of honey) was pushed into their hands. They took a sip, smiling slightly at the Nightmare Before Christmas mug that Elliott had chosen for them.

“Casey, what just happened back there? We didn’t sign up for that,” Kai said gravely. Casey winced, refusing to meet Kai’s gaze.

“Kai-”

“No. He’s right,” Casey interrupted Elliott’s soft reprimanding. Both Elliott and Kai gave them surprised and incredulous expressions.

“I’m right?” Kai asked, dumbstruck. Casey sighed.

“Yes, you’re right, don’t gloat about it. I shouldn’t have dragged you guys into it, and I probably should’ve listened to Logan,” they replied.

“You definitely should have listened to Logan,” Elliott muttered.

“Yeah. Cause either way, if Elodie is Voltaic or if she isn’t, you’ve made quite the enemy,” Kai added.

“Way to add on to my list of fuck-ups. I wish I could make it so that it never happened, but I can’t. What happened, happened. There’s no way to fix it,” Casey said bitterly.

“Actually, there might be a way to fix it,” Kai said, handing Casey his phone. They looked down at the contact information that he had pulled up.

“What? How do you have Elodie’s number?” They asked in surprise.

“She got my number from Lauren, cause she wanted to interview me for a yearbook thing. Bet you’re glad I didn’t delete her number out of spite, cause now you can call her and apologize,” Kai said firmly. Casey looked down at the phone, then back to their friends.

“And I thought Elliott was the parent friend,” they muttered, pressing the call button. The phone rang for a few moments but was eventually answered.

“Hello?” Elodie’s voice came.

“I want to apologize for what I said,” Casey blurted. The line went quiet for a moment or two, and Casey was afraid that Elodie had hung up.

“... I’m listening,” she replied.

“It was wrong of me to accuse you of being a villain when I didn’t have any solid proof,” Casey said, just barely keeping their voice from shaking.

“And?”

“And… and I shouldn’t have talked about your uncle that way. I’m sorry for what I said, and I’m sorry that the faculty at the hospital aren’t helping your uncle as well as they should be,” Casey said, silently promising to bring up the matter with Logan after the Voltaic problem was dealt with.

“Not like you saying that is really gonna change anything, but thanks,” Elodie spat. Casey sighed.

“Elodie, I-”

“Save it, Emory. I know you’re only calling me to ease your conscience. To pretend to be like those heroes you so obviously admire, for some goddamn reason,” she scoffed.

“Elodie-”

“No. I’m not Voltaic, but I’m starting to think that she’s the only one who makes any sense around here,” she interrupted, again. Casey opened their mouth to reply, but a sudden buzz from their phone derailed their train of thought. They pulled it out to see a message from Remy:

_ Voltaic is attacking the others at base, we need you kids NOW _

“What?” Casey gasped in shock at the message, turning their phone to show their friends.

“Don’t sound so surprised. She’s showing the city how heroic their precious heroes really are. I can’t actually believe I wanted to be one of them,” Elodie said, her voice harsh. And with that, she hung up. Casey wordlessly handed Kai back his phone, eyes wide in shock. There was no way Elodie could be Voltaic, Remy’s message came through when they were on the phone with her.

“Hold on, Logan wants us to come back to base? Why the sudden change of heart? What if this is Voltaic messing with us?!” Elliott rambled, running their hands through their hair.

“I don’t wanna run that risk,” Casey said boldly, setting their tea down on the coffee table and shrugging the blanket off their shoulders. Kai nodded in agreement, and he and Casey looked to Elliott.

“... Fine. Let’s go, I guess,” they sighed in defeat. The three of them walked out of Casey and Virgil’s apartment, yet again making their way to Kai’s car. On their way there, there was one thought that plagued Casey’s mind. If Elodie wasn’t Voltaic, then who was?


	13. Not Warriors

Remy’s mansion seemed relatively normal from the outside. Well, at least as normal as a white modern-style mansion with multicolored windows could be. But Casey certainly knew by now that appearances could be deceiving. The three of them snuck into the house and made their way to Remy’s living room. Casey put a hand to the panel in the fireplace, and the back wall of it slid open to reveal the stairway down into Remy’s lab. They quickly made their way down the steps, and when they had reached the bottom, varying expressions of shock and fear came over their faces.

Nearly all the heroes were down for the count. Logan laid motionless on the floor, Patton crouching next to him and trying his best to shield the attacks from the Knight suit with his wings. Meanwhile, Roman was slumped over a few feet away from them, his sword discarded at his side. Voltaic was holding Virgil up by the throat, orange glitches both traveling over her form and Virgil’s.

Casey grit their teeth, moving as if to rush forward, but was suddenly tugged aside. Their friends had been tugged along with them, and they looked over to see Remy and his SphereBots guiding them to a secluded corner of the lab. He looked exhausted, but Casey decided that now was not the time to ask about it.

“The three of you are NOT going out like that. I managed to pull something together for Kai and Elliott with some old design specs… we’re lucky Voltaic was too busy with the others to notice,” Remy said in a low whisper. Casey and their friends exchanged looks of excitement and nervousness. Remy gave them a small smile, then pressed something on his touchpad. 

The SphereBots went to work, and Casey smiled as the familiar dark green suit materialized over their skin. Kai and Elliott let out small sounds of surprise as suits began materializing on them as well. In a matter of moments, the SphereBots had finished their work, and Casey looked to Elliott and Kai in wonder.

Elliott’s suit was all black and had a hood and what seemed to be victorian-style coattails. In fact, much of their suit gave off a Victorian aesthetic, with silver-colored buttons going down the chest of the suit, as well as boots that had an overkill amount of buckles on it. Elliott looked down at their gloved hands with a grin, shadows twirling between their fingers.

Kai, on the other hand, seemed like the polar opposite of Elliott. His suit was all white and seemed to have a more sleek, futuristic aesthetic. He wore a cape that had a yellow inner lining, and his gloves and boots were yellow as well. He had a black belt with what seemed to be a tiny sun logo on it and a visor which had a yellow and black gradient. Kai toyed with the end of his cape, seeming a little miffed by it but otherwise not complaining.

“You put these together in how much time?” Casey asked in a surprised whisper.

“Y’all seem to conveniently forget that designing super-suits is my jam. And that my parents have designed dozens of suits over the years. Now go kick that bitch’s butt,” Remy snarked in a whisper. Casey gave a smirk to Remy, then turned towards where Voltaic was menacingly standing over the heroes.

“Wait, what’s the plan here? Are we just walking up to her?!” Elliott asked in a panicked whisper.

“There’s a time for subtlety, and there’s a time for kicking ass,” Kai replied with a shrug. He began to walk forward but was stopped by Casey putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, Elliott- or rather, Void- is right. We need a plan,” Casey said, surveying the situation once more.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” Kai asked.

“Do you guys think you can keep the suit occupied? I’ll face Voltaic one-on-one and try to steal her powers,” Casey suggested. Kai and Elliott nodded firmly, then the three of them leapt into action. Elliott melted into the shadows, then reappeared behind the suit. Shadowy tendrils shot up from the ground and curled around the suit’s limbs.

“Look at them, showing off with their shadow-travel while the rest of us have to run like normal people,” Kai muttered, then ran over to the suit, the palms of his hands glowing. Casey followed after him, flicking out their claws and making a beeline towards Voltaic.

“What?! Who are you?! There aren’t supposed to be more heroes!” Voltaic shrieked. She threw Virgil to the ground, then began to stalk over towards Kai and Elliott. However, Casey had just reached her before she got the chance. Casey leapt at Voltaic, claws extended- only for her to disappear in a flurry of glitches. Casey nearly crashed to the ground but rolled into a crouch at the last minute. Their gaze snapped around, trying to figure out where Voltaic went.

“Show yourself!” Casey snarled, rising to their feet.

“If you insist,” her voice came from behind them. Casey whirled around, ready to slash at Voltaic. Except for that she glitched away. Again.

“Why so shy all of a sudden?” Casey taunted, hoping to draw her out.

“Because you must be the mysterious Copycat I saw in the files. So I know to keep my distance,” Voltaic replied coolly, reappearing a few feet in front of Casey. Just behind her, Virgil began to stir on the floor. Casey’s eyes lit up. If they could keep Voltaic distracted long enough, then maybe Virgil would be able to attack her from behind. Or at least give him enough time to get the team to safety.

“Oh, a fan?! I’m flattered,” Casey exclaimed sarcastically. Virgil raised his head at the sound of Casey’s voice, eyes unfocused but wide with concern.

“I can’t exactly be a true fan though… the files say so little about you. I don’t even know your name,” Voltaic snarled in mock annoyance. Casey cocked their head to the side, feigning confusion.

“But you said my name?” They asked. Voltaic let out something that sounded like a growl, but it was distorted and technological. Virgil became more alert at the sound of Voltaic’s growl and began to quietly rise to his feet.

“Not your codename! Your real name!” she fumed. Virgil was on his feet now, eyes flickering violet.

“How do you know Copycat isn’t my real name?” Casey taunted with a smirk. Fog began curling at Virgil’s feet, and lightning buzzed between his fingertips.

“Because it- you know what? Nevermind. You’re insufferable,” Voltaic huffed.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Virgil piped up, sending a blast of lightning at Voltaic as soon as the words left his mouth. She shrieked as the blast sent her flying. Unfortunately, she ended up flying right into Casey. Both of them tumbled to the ground, and Casey was stunned for a few moments, but soon got their bearings. They unsheathed their claws on one hand, reaching out to try and take Voltaic’s powers. But before they got the chance to, Voltaic snatched their wrist and pinned it to the ground. Casey let out a frustrated shout, squirming in her grasp. Their other hand shot up and slashed across Voltaic’s mask. Voltaic let out a surprised shriek and stumbled back off of Casey. They leapt to their feet, ready to take Voltaic’s powers… until they caught a glimpse of the face under Voltaic’s now broken mask.

Casey’s world seemed to tilt on its axis. The broken mask slipped from her face, revealing warm reddish-brown eyes glittering with anger. Those eyes paired with the dark hair pulled back into a ponytail… Casey instantly recognized her. Voltaic was Roux Avalon, the cute girl from their chemistry class.

“Roux?” They gasped out, all of their bravado and confidence sapped away in an instant. Voltaic’s- no,  _ Roux’s  _ head shot up, eyes wide with surprise.

“How do you know my name?! Who are you?!” she demanded, clambering to her feet. Casey’s mouth opened and closed uselessly as they could only stare at Roux.

“Copycat, what are you-”

“SHUT UP!” Roux shrieked, interrupting Virgil and sending a blast of orange electricity at him. The blast hit him in the stomach, and he let out a guttural cry of pain as he stumbled backwards. He fell to the ground, landing with a painful thump.

“No!” Casey cried, desperately wanting to rush to Virgil’s aid, but was blocked by Roux standing in front of them.

“How do you know who I am?!” she demanded, her body glitching furiously and eyes flickering orange.

“I- I…” Casey trailed off, feeling lost and helpless. Before they had been so eager to prove themself, to show Virgil and the others that they could handle being a hero… but now how could they do that, when the person they were supposed to stop had once shown such kindness to them? And was also really cute… Casey cursed their disaster bisexual self. They saw one cute girl, and she ended up being the villain.

“Answer me!” Roux shouted, orange electricity gathering in the palms of her hands. Casey’s heart raced, and in a moment of pure instinct, they tore off their helmet. It dropped to the floor with a thunk, and Roux’s mouth fell open, electricity dissipating from her hands.

“Casey?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes, it’s me. Please, Roux, you don’t need to do this,” Casey pleaded. Roux looked genuinely confused.

“But… but I’m doing this for you!” she exclaimed. Casey’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?” They gasped.

“Yes! For you, and for every other person that had powers forced on them because of these  _ heroes _ ,” she spat, gesturing to the room around her. Roman was still unconscious on the floor, as was Virgil. Patton was slumped on top of Logan, and the Knight suit towered over them. The suit had Elliott held tight against its chest, and Kai was hanging limply by the cape held in its other hand. The SphereBots had cornered Remy, and Emile was nowhere to be seen or heard. Casey was truly on their own.

“It… it wasn’t their fault,” they said weakly.

“Casey, if it hadn’t been for them, you would be normal. I would be normal. Don’t you see that?” Roux said.

“But…” Casey trailed off, unsure of how to respond.

“Join me, Casey. We could have something beautiful together,” Roux pleaded softly. Casey’s heart pounded in their chest. A plan began formulating in their mind… but would they be able to pull it off?

“Join you?” They asked, taking a tentative step forward.

“No- Casey… don’t!” a strangled voice cried. Casey glanced over to see Elliott looking over at them, weakly struggling in the suit’s grip. Casey gave them a sympathetic look and turned back to Roux.

“What… exactly do you mean by joining you?” Casey asked warily.

“Well, I was hoping we could be partners. I wouldn’t mind both interpretations of the word,” she replied with a smile. Their face flushed in response, and they stepped closer to Roux. She moved closer too.

“Partners?” Casey asked, taking another step. Roux moved closer still. They were just a few inches apart.

“Partners,” she murmured, reaching out and taking Casey’s face into her hands. Her thumb gently caressed Casey’s cheek, while the other hand went up to gently comb through their hair. They were breathing the same air at this point, and with a nervous twist in their stomach, Casey surged forward to press their lips together. Roux made a surprised sound, but kissed them back, the hand on their face slipping down and brushing their neck, before traveling lower to wrap her arm around Casey’s waist to tug them closer. But Casey couldn’t really focus on the kiss. It just felt so  _ wrong _ … but they had to. Just long enough to focus their powers.

A sudden rush of energy came to Casey. They could feel all of the technology in the room- Remy’s computer, the SphereBots, the Knight suit… everything. It nearly overwhelmed them, but they managed to keep control over the powers that had just flowed into them. They relinquished control over the suit and the SphereBots, hearing first the suit and then the bots hit the ground with a crash. Casey distantly hoped that the others were okay and hadn’t gotten crushed by the suit, but they had other things to worry about.

“You- you stole my powers!” Roux shrieked, breaking away from Casey. They didn’t say anything in reply, instead, moving closer to Roux with watery eyes. They sheathed the claws on their other hand and reached out to take Roux’s face in their hands before she could get any further away from Casey. Power and energy seeped into them, and Roux let out a shuddering cry. Her knees soon gave out, and Casey lowered to the floor with her. They leaned their forehead against Roux’s, silent tears slipping down their face.

In a matter of minutes, Roux passed out in Casey’s arms. They shifted to cradle her in their lap, and a hand clasped over their mouth as their crying turned to sobbing. They had saved the day. They had proved they were a hero. But at what cost? They stole the powers from a girl their age, a girl they had really liked, even if Casey had only known her for a few days. Maybe heroes were in the wrong… because Casey wasn’t sure if saving the day was supposed to  _ hurt  _ this much.

“Casey?” a voice asked. Their head shot up to see Virgil kneeling next to them, eyes soft with concern even as his expression was wrought with exhaustion and pain. Their hand fell from their mouth as they breathed out a shuddery sigh.

“Virge, I- does it always hurt? Being the hero?” Casey asked, their voice shaking.

“It- yeah. It does hurt sometimes. But no one’s asking you to be a hero, Casey,” he replied softly. Casey pondered Virgil’s words for a moment.

“But- but if I hadn’t done anything, then she would have killed all of you, or worse,” Casey gasped out in a sob. Virgil didn’t reply, but instead gently and quickly moved Roux out of Casey’s arms and to the floor, then pulled Casey into his arms. Casey froze for a moment, then hugged Virgil back tightly, sobbing into his chest.

“It’s okay, Casey. It’ll all be okay. I’ve got you,” he murmured into their hair, gently rubbing their back. Casey could do nothing but sob.


	14. Epilogue: Swan Song

A few hours had passed since Casey won in the fight against Roux. They turned Roux in to the police, and Roman, Logan, and Patton had been moved to the lounge area of the lab. Virgil sat down on the floor next to the couch that Roman was laid on, holding Casey against his chest. Kai and Elliott were on either side of him, seeming utterly exhausted. Remy was in his lab, trying to figure out the mess that was now his computer system.

Logan was the first to stir, thereby waking Patton who was stubbornly clinging to him. (Even unconscious, Patton had refused to let go of Logan when the other heroes tried to move them to the lounge, so they just moved them together.) Patton blinked in confusion, gaze shifting around as he tried to figure out what was going on. Logan freed one of his hands from Patton, then brought it up to massage his temple.

“What happened?” he asked groggily.

“Casey stopped Voltaic. You guys have been out for a couple hours,” Virgil explained. A proud smile quirked on Logan’s lips, and his gaze landed on Kai and Elliott, who were still in their suits.

“I couldn’t have done it without Kai and Elliott,” Casey piped up before Logan could ask about them.

“Uh, you did most of the work, Casey. I held down the suit with my shadows for about two seconds before it nabbed me and knocked Kai out,” Elliott pointed out.

“My head still hurts,” Kai grumbled.

“I can help with that! Just give me… a nap. Or two. Maybe a lot of naps…” Patton trailed off, sighing into Logan’s chest.

“I’m afraid we’re going to need a lot of old-fashioned healing. You rest, Patton,” Logan replied softly.

“Mmmkay. You guys keep talking, I’m just gonna close my eyes for a bit,” Patton said tiredly as he slumped into Logan’s embrace. Logan smiled down at Patton, then looked to Casey.

“You and your friends took on Voltaic? By yourselves? How did Kai and Elliott even obtain suits?” Logan asked.

“Gurl, you have SO little faith in me,” Remy piped up, walking over to the lounge with a touchscreen in hand.

“I… yes. You went above and beyond what I asked you to do,” Logan replied, a thoughtful look on his face. Virgil’s eyes went wide in shock.

“Wait, what exactly did you ask him to do?” Virgil asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.

“We… we were out of options- I asked him to contact Casey,” he replied, sounding almost bashful. Virgil was quiet for a moment, and Casey braced themself for Virgil’s inevitable disapproving statement.

“It’s good that you reached out to them. They did good, saved us all,” Virgil said proudly. Casey turned in Virgil’s arms to look him in the eyes.

“I- I did good?” They asked, hardly believing their ears.

“You sure as hell did, hon. Kai and Elliott too,” Remy piped up. 

“Yeah. I- I’m starting to think that… that maybe…” Virgil trailed off.

“I believe a ‘junior team’ of sorts could work,” Logan suggested.

“Junior team?” Casey asked.

“Yes, for smaller missions and emergencies. We can train you, and you can get the… ‘action’, that you so desire. If you wish,” Logan explained.

“Please say yes, cause I just came up with the coolest team name for you kids,” Remy said with a grin.

“I’m down. I didn’t get to do much ass-kicking anyway,” Kai said.

“It’s not about ass-kicking! But, I’m… I like the idea of a ‘junior team,’” Elliott agreed. Everyone looked to Casey, and they let out a small sigh.

“Today… today has been a lot. But I would be honored to be on a team with Kai and Elliott,” they said softly.

“Goddamnit, you made the epic moment sappy,” Kai teased with an eye-roll.

“Listen, my emotions are at an all-time high right now,” Casey shot back with a grin. Kai broke into laughter, which caused Casey to laugh, which then caused Elliott to laugh.

“Y’all done being cute yet? I wanna share your team name!” Remy exclaimed with a slight pout.

“Go for it, Rem,” Casey said with a laugh.

“Well, Meteor City Heroes- meet the Meteorites: Copycat, Flare, and Void,” Remy said, gesturing at the mentioned heroes in turn.

“That… that team name is actually pretty cool,” Kai said with an awed half-grin.

“Uhm, duh it’s cool! I came up with it!” Remy squawked in indignation. The sound of his voice ended up startling Roman awake, and he lurched upwards into a sitting position.

“Whazhappenin?” he slurred, putting a hand to his head. Virgil carefully dislodged Casey from his lap and moved to sit next to his boyfriend.

“Hey, it’s okay, we’re safe now,” Virgil murmured, pressing a kiss to Roman’s hair.

“We won? Against Voltaic?” Roman asked in slight disbelief.

“Thanks to the Meteorites! Or in boring terms: thanks to Casey, Kai, and Elliott,” Remy replied with a smirk. A grin that was a mix of awe and pride grew on Roman’s face.

“That’s incredible! How is everyone faring?” Roman asked, eyes sweeping over everyone in the room. His eyes lingered on Logan for a moment, squinting suspiciously. Logan huffed out an irritated yet fond sigh.

“I am… adequate. Many of my injuries seem to have been healed- I believe I had a broken rib or two, severe bruising, and a mild concussion. My head still aches slightly, and I have a few scattered bruises, but I am otherwise healed. I suspect Patton used his powers to heal me when I was unconscious, and that is why he’s as exhausted as he is,” Logan replied. Roman’s expression twisted with guilt.

“My suit really did a number on you, didn’t it?” he sighed. To everyone’s surprise, a sheepish expression grew on Logan’s face, before it was replaced by something more stoic and determined.

“Well… I believe a fair amount of the bruises and the concussion came from our first altercation with Voltaic. Which… I suppose was also technically from your suit- but the point is, this is Voltaic’s fault. Not yours, Roman,” Logan said firmly. Roman seemed soothed by this, but Virgil raised an eyebrow at Logan.

“Wait, hold on. You mean to tell me that you were hurt since we first faced down Voltaic?! And hid it from all of us?!” Virgil demanded.

“They were mild injuries, and Patton had been stretching himself far too thin,” Logan replied with a huff. Virgil let out a slightly hysterical laugh, shaking his head fondly.

“And here I thought Roman was a self-sacrificial idiot,” he muttered. Roman let out a slightly offended sound, to which Virgil smiled softly and kissed him on the head again.

A jarring technological screech tears the heroes from their reverie, and Casey, Kai, and Elliott leap to their feet. Remy jumped to his feet as well, looking down at his touchscreen. He began tapping furiously at the screen, a grin worming its way onto his face.

“Relax y’all, I think that was Picani! Emile’s trying to find his way back!” Remy cried. He tapped some more at his touchscreen until a golden light flickered out from a lens on the back of the touchscreen. Emile’s holographic form appeared, glitching slightly at first, but steadily grew clearer.

“You’re all okay! And boy, have I been through a heck of a time!” Emile exclaimed, slowly turning in a circle to meet the relieved and bewildered gazes of the heroes.

“How did you end up in Remy’s system? Shouldn’t you be projecting from my suit?” Roman asked, head tilted to one side in confusion.

“Well… I sorta got kicked out of the suit when Voltaic took over. I bounced around for quite a bit- think I ended up in a computer system halfway across the world at one point- until I eventually made my way back to the systems in the lab. And-” Emile stopped suddenly, and he looked nervous- maybe even terrified.

“Emile? Babes, what’s wrong?” Remy asked. Emile glanced between Roman and Remy, expression unreadable.

“When I was bouncing around, I found something. Files that were buried deep in your computer systems, Remy. Something that I think would have stayed buried if Voltaic hadn’t- well- if she hadn’t poked around, to put it lightly,” Emile began to explain.

“And? What did you find?” Remy pressed.

“It… it might be easier if I show you,” Emile replied. He turned away from the group, and his eyes began to glow white. Light shot from his eyes, projecting an image on the wall. It seemed to be the screencap for a video, with a timestamp showing that the footage was about twenty-five years old. The frozen image was of a sleeping child with golden-brown hair, who couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. Along the top left corner of the video, it read:  _ Dreamwalker_Day_5 _ . The video began to play, and the voice of a man was heard, along with the beeping of a heart rate monitor.

“Subject, nicknamed the Dreamwalker, is now sleeping for the first time since the incident. We have the Dreamwalker connected to a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on his condition. Thankfully, the terrors and illusions he had caused have now seemed to cease, now that he’s asleep,” the voice said. Remy’s mouth dropped open.

“Dad?” he gasped out.

“We’ve also discovered that along with manipulating reality to cause terrors and illusions, the Dreamwalker can also manipulate others into falling asleep. However, we believe that he needs to make physical contact with the intended target in order to do so. Cause of these abilities is still-” the voice cuts off as the beeping of the heart rate suddenly spiked, and the child squirmed on the table he was laying on. The squirming turned to violent thrashing, and heart rate monitor beeps faster.

“Oh my god, he’s-” the voice is cut off again when the child sits bolt upright, eyes snapping open. His eyes were a beautiful, brilliant blue for a split second, until a sickening green crept into them. The heart rate monitor beeped faster and faster as shadows curled around the boy. Green smoke poured from his mouth, and something that seemed to be tentacles grew from his back. The sound of a fierce and powerful wind is heard, along with an incoherent cry from the man behind the camera. The child shrieked, and the shadows and green smoke whip around him in a violent torrent, accompanied by flashes of colorful light. The shriek grew in intensity and pitch until it didn’t sound human. Then with a last powerful burst of light- it all stopped, and the child disappeared. The video stops soon after that.

The room was sent into silence, all of them trying to process what they just saw. Emile’s eyes stopped glowing white, the projection disappearing from the wall. He turned back to the group, glancing to Remy and then to Roman.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that? What the hell  _ was _ that, Emile?” Roman demanded, his voice low and almost harsh.

“That- that was- well, I can’t be certain, exactly… the files were buried so deep, I don’t know if I have all of the information, or if this information was supposed to be found-”

“Just tell me!” Roman shouted.

“That- the Dreamwalker- was your brother,” Emile said gravely. Roman’s eyes went wide.

“My- my what? But that’s not…” Roman trailed off.

“I don’t think I have the full story, but as far as I can tell, your brother was an incredibly dangerous and unpredictable inhuman. Your father tried to keep him hidden- but then there was an incident of some sort, and he was sent here to Remy’s parents. Then five days after that, he just… disappeared,” Emile explained. Roman brought a shaky hand to his mouth, his other hand running through his hair. The room fell silent again.

However, the silence didn’t last long, as an alarm blared through the lab. Remy cursed under his breath, then dashed over to his main computer to see what the alert was. Emile trailed after him, not having much of a choice not to, considering he was projecting from Remy’s touchscreen.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked, starting to sit up despite Patton’s protests. Remy turned to face the others, his expression a mix of annoyance and panic.

“It’s Deceit. He’s disappeared from the mental hospital.”

* * *

A girl with curly brown hair peeking out from under her hood stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building in Meteor City. She isn’t sure of what it used to be- not that it mattered. It was empty and was going to be her home now. And if things went the way she wanted, it would be the home to others who saw that the “Meteor City Heroes” weren’t heroes at all.

A snake slithered out from beneath her hood. It traveled down her arm, and into the waiting palm of her hand. She kneeled to place the snake on the ground, then stood back up, giving it some space. Before her eyes, the snake grew in size and shifted into a different shape. Into something more humanlike.

Soon, a man with scales on half of his face stood before her, a cloak affixed on his shoulders and a hat over his eyes. He pushed the brim of the hat up, and a set of mismatched yellow and brown eyes stared at her with what seemed to be pride.

“You didn’t help me escape,” he said with a grin, and the girl can’t help but grin back at the man.

“Anything for you, Uncle,” she replied.

“Yes… you would do anything, wouldn’t you? I believe I haven’t waited long enough… we will show those so-called heroes. It will be our swan song,” he said thoughtfully.

“There will be others. Others that will join us… but others that won’t,” she warned. The man’s yellow eye glinted in the darkness.

“That, my dear Elodie, I certainly am not counting on.”


End file.
